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Redondo Beach Transit Center Security
Needs Evaluation Analysis
Introduction
The purpose of this document is to evaluate the current and future security needs at the Redondo Beach Transit Center and make a recommendation for ongoing security arrangements.
The City of Redondo Beach pays the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority MTA) to provide security at the Redondo Beach Transit Center. One MTA deputy (provided by LA County Sheriff) is dedicated on-site Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The uniformed deputy assists bus patrons and bus drivers with general information, and the deputy's presence is a preventative measure to discourage criminal activity.
MTA has recently Informed City Staff that the current annual fees charged, approximately 75,000, are below the appropriate level for a dedicated deputy. They proposed that If the City wished to maintain the current level of security, then the fee would need to be increased to approximately $ 335,000 per year for the on- site transit deputy. Alternatively, MTA proposed to remove the on-site transit deputy and change to a deputy that is part of the MTA transit pool at approximately the same annual cost. Within the transit pool framework, a security officer would not be located on-site, rather security would be provided by a pool of officers that float, with an Intermittent presence both at the transit center and on buses.
Additionally, the relocation of the Transit Center to 1541 Kingsdale Avenue is currently in the planning stages. The new, expanded facility Is estimated to be operational in late 2012. The new location will have a new parking lot, a bicycle station, and other transit facilities, that will require additional security measures.
Based on the needs evaluation summarized in this document, staff recommends issuing a Request For Proposal ( RFP) to solicit bids to provide security for the current Transit Center location. While the focus of the analysis provides a basis for security services at the new Transit Center, an updated security needs analysis will be performed upon completion of construction of the new location. This recommendation and supporting background are explained in more detail within the document below.
Transit Center Facilities
The Redondo Beach Galleria Transit Center is located at 1820 Kingsdale Avenue, near Artesia Blvd. on the northwest side of the South Bay Galleria Mall. It is on the east side of Kingsdale Avenue, parallel to the northbound traffic lanes and is highly visible due to high traffic at this location. The Transit Center provides bus bay layovers and transfer locations for several local and regional bus lines, including; Metro, Gardena Municipal Bus Lines, Torrance Transit and Lawndale Best. Ten regional and local area routes currently serve the Transit Center, with the majority of the routes running through the Transit Center between the hours of 5 a.m. and 12:30 a.m. daily.
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Planning is underway for a new Transit Center which will be located at 1541 Kingsdale Avenue, 1/ 4 mile south of its current location. The new facility allows for significant growth as a regional transit hub and the location provides for bi-modal access, as the planned Green Line extension is implemented. Construction is expected to begin in 2011, and the new Transit Center is expected to be fully operational by December 2012. The new location will include accommodations for fire bus lines and ten daily routes, as well as a kiss n' ride lot south of the Kingsdale bus entrance, a 300 space park n' ride, and a bike locker system.
New Transit Center Layout
1521 Kingsdale Avenue
Transit Bus
Entrance & Exit
Security History
Transit Center security at the Galleria was initially provided in 1987, by the Redondo Beach Police Department (RBPD). Two full-time officers were dedicated to the location from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends. In 1992, the RBPD evaluated the crime history of the Transit Center and due to the low incidence of criminal activity, they recommended the City contract with the Rapid Transit District (now known as Metro) to provide transit security. This recommendation was adopted and currently, the City pays for one Metro deputy ( provided by LA County Sheriff) dedicated on-site Monday through Friday from 10 a. m. to 6 p.m. and on weekends from 10 a.m, to 4 p.m. The uniformed deputy's presence ads as a preventative measure discouraging criminal activity and the deputy assists bus patrons and bus drivers as needed.
Metro has recently proposed that the on-site transit deputy be removed and replaced with a deputy in the Metro transit pool. Within the transit pool framework, a security officer would not be located on site, but rather security would be provided by a pool of officers that Float, with an intermittent presence both at the transit center and on buses. Metro has proposed an approximate cost of $75,000 to switch to this transit pool officer or an increase to $ 335,000 to maintain the on-site presence that we have currently. We pay approximately $ 70,000 per year for the on-site officer.
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Crime
Transit Center users, employees, and the general public, as well as property and equipment located at the transit center are susceptible to the same crimes experienced in the surrounding area. Part I crimes ( Including violent crimes, such as homicide, rape, and property crimes, such as burglary and grand theft auto) in the cities surrounding the Transit Center are listed in Table
1. The crime rate, as shown, is measured In offenses per each 100,000 persons of population.
Table 1. Crime Statistics'
Part I Crime Rate in Surrounding Cities
Jurisdiction/Area Total Population
Pad I Crime Rate
per 100,000 Persons
City of Hawthorne2 84,314 830
C of Lawndale 31, 301 552
City of Redondo Beach 2009 67,268 295
City of Torrance (20091 141, 109 183
More specifically, Metro has reported that incidents at the Transit Center itself have been infrequent since they began providing security in 1993. In calendar year 2010, Metro received 4 calls for service. In addition, RBPD statistics show there were no reported Part 1 Crimes at the Transit Center during the same time period. This is a low rate of service based on feedback from both Metro and RBPD.
Current and Future Transit Center Security Needs
Security is currently provided by Metro on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regional and local transit services use the Transit Center for the majority of the day starting at 5 a.m. and ending at 12:30 a.m. Current Transit Center usage is summarized in Table 2.
Table 2. Transit Center Services
Transit
Anencv Routes
Mon -Fri Service Saturday Service Sunday Service
Metro 6 4:50 AM -12: 15 AM 5: 30 AM -12: 15 AM 4:50 AM -12: 15 AM Gardena 1 6:30 AM -7:30 PM NA NA
Torrance 2 5:30 AM -7:30 PM 6:20 AM -8:20 PM 6:20 AM -8:20 PM Lawndale 2 7 AM -6:40 PM 8:40 AM -6 PM 9:20 AM -6 PM
Source: U. S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics, 2009 Transit Center Security Analysis
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Based on the crime statistics and security recommendations referenced above, all indications are that the current level of security staff at the Galleria Transit Center location provides adequate public safety. The need for security personnel at the current location will not change during the remaining 18 months of operation. The new Transit Center will require increased security at the new location due to an expanded footprint, higher user traffic, and decreased visibility. Neither the transit bus circle and building, nor the bicycle racks and park n' ride lot will be directly visible from Kingsdale Avenue. Only the kiss n' ride lot is open to the public view, as it parallels Kingsdale Avenue.
The new Transit Center facility will provide fully lit pathways and parking lots, as well as closedcircuit television cameras ( CCTV) linked to RBPD to provide a sense of security and personal safety for the Transit Center users. The RBPD will be able to view the activities at the transit center, passenger waiting areas, and in addition to the parking lot facility, when necessary. The CCTV video system will record incidents that may occur on the facility property, which will be available for use by RBPD. Lighting and CCN will be paid for through allocated Transit Security Funds, from Metro Transit Formula Allocation Procedure Funds, and Proposition A Funds, as necessary to pay for transit security -related expenses.
In addition to the security equipment referenced above, the new transit center will require additional security personnel as well. The new location covers 6.5 acres of land and the additional demands of protecting people and property, and preventing criminal activity will be significantly increased. The bus circle, transit building, and parking lot will not be easily visible to the public view. For these reasons and based on recommendations from RBPD, staff recommends an expansion of the on-site security presence weekdays from 4:30 a. m. to 8:30 p.m. and weekends from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., for a total of 5,840 hours per year. Additionally, itis recommended that the position is restructured as a Transit Ambassador to assist transit center users with questions and information, and that security personnel are provided with a vehicle gotf cart or Segway).
The Police Department has spoken extensively with Harbor, Business and Transit personnel about the Transit Center Security Analysis. The Police Department concurs with the proposal to use privately contracted security in place of Sheriff Department deputies or Redondo Beach Police Department officers or civilian personnel as the primary security force at the Transit Center. This concurrence is based on the known lack of an extensive security budget that would support the costs of city personnel for the current and proposed Transit Centers, on the historical crime rate at the current site, and on the projected security needs to address crime and nuisance issues at the new Transit Center. The Police Department believes that there will be an increased exposure to graffiti vandalism, larceny from vehicles, transient camping and other minor nuisance crimes when the Transit Center moves to the new location, removed from the public view of passing vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The permanent and active presence of an ambassador/security person can be more effective to deter crime than a police officer that may be called to more serious incidents at the Galleria or elsewhere in the city on demand.
The current involvement of the Redondo Beach Police Department with the Galleria -based transit center is to respond to crime and nuisance issues that occur in and around the location.
Although the Sheriff Department asserts that there is a full time deputy at the location, the Police Department patrol officers anecdotally describe their presence as intermittent. Their current staffing may more closely mirror the proposed transit pool staffing that is proposed.
RBPD officers have responded to the current transit center to stabilize crime situations and to wait for the arrival of Sheriff personnel from locations on the South Bay MTA bus lines. RBPD 4 Transit Center Security Analysis
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already assumes responsibilities for incidents that occur outside of the contracted six to eight hours.
The future involvement of RBPD relative to private security would be very similar to its current support role to the Sheriff Department. RBPD would respond to calls for police services, investigate and document crime incidents, take citizen's arrests and provide occasional patrols when in the area. Based on current crime statistics, it can continue these practices with little additional impact. The ability of the Redondo Beach Police Department to absorb future demands at the new facility is not certain, but it will depend on the effectiveness of the private security/ambassador to prevent crime and nuisance behaviors by taking a proactive role with a constant presence in the parking lot and in the building. The Transit Center would enjoy the same level of service of any Redondo Beach resident or business based on the priority of the call. There are generally three to five patrol officers assigned to areas north of 1909 Street, and they would respond to calls for assistance at the Transit Center as equally as to any location in this geographic area. Should calls for service, crimes, and nuisance calls increase significantly beyond the police department's capacity at the new Transit Center location, the department will seek to re -open the discussion of patrol personnel needs north of 190'" Street.
The advantage of private security officers at the Transit Center is that this would be their primary and sole duty. An RBPD officer assigned to the Transit Center would be expected to leave the Transit Center to assist other officers and/or reporting parties with in -progress or serious crimes at the Galleria or anywhere in the City as needed. This would leave the Transit Center without security for the time periods that the police officer was off-site. The 1992 assessment of full time officers at the Transit Center identified that the work at the Transit Center, or rather the lack of it, did not match the skill set or the interest of a police officer that wanted to be involved in crime deterrence. The fully loaded cost of a private security officer is significantly less than a police officer both in current salary and benefits as well as in long term benefit costs to the City. The work of the Transit Center security more closely matches the skills and interest of a motivated security person. The goal of the Transit Center security should be prevention through customer service, involvement and mobile presence rather than by reaction to crime.
Finally, the police department is currently developing its enterprise video system for police station and community security. Police staffing will not be able to monitor any location at the police station or in other parts of the community continuously. However, it will be able to use this technology to record locations and to bring attention to certain areas with camera analytics.
The police department will attempt to facilitate the video demands of the Transit Center under these conditions. The costs to achieve this will include the purchase of adequate cameras for the Transit Center security mission and adequate server storage space for Transit Center areas of interest. The Transit Center security budget would not sustain this in addition to the higher cost of swom officer security provided by the Los Angeles County Sherif or the Redondo Beach Police Department.
Transit Center Security- Other Los Angeles County Locations The Cities of El Monte and Covina both have Transit Centers with on- site parking lots, similar to the new Redondo Beach Transit Center. Both Cities recently issued Request For Proposals structuring their security program using a ' Transit Ambassador". The Transit Ambassador performs public assistance and security services. The City of EI Monte uses full-time City employees, and the City of Covina contracts with a security company to provide Transit Ambassadors and supervisory staff.
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The City of EI Monte' s Transit Center serves the EI Monte Trolley and Commuter Systems, Metro, Foothill Transit and Metrolink, providing several free parking lots with 300 parking spaces that are open to the public 24 houriday. The City of Covina's Transit Center serves Foothill Transit, Metrolink, the Cities of Azusa and Glendora shuttle services. The City of Covina charges for parking at their lots. Monthly permit parking permits are available for both locations, and daily parking is available at the parking structure only. The parking lots do not have transit security during the weekends, but are open to the public at no charge.
The security service hours that are provided by Covina and EI Monte are provided in Table 3.
Table 3. Transit Center Security Comparisons
Covina EI Monte
Security Service Hours -Weekdays 4,30 AM- 9:30 PM 5 AM - 9:30 PM Security Service Hours -Saturday NA 8:30 AM — 7 PM
Security Service Hours -Sunday NA NA
Annual Securft Guard Servioe Hours 4, 165 4,688
Parking Facilities
1 Parking Structure
1 Surface Parking lot
Parking lots
300 spaces
Parkina Lot Patrol Vehicle 2 Segmys 1 Golf cart
Transit Security Options
Staff has evaluated several options for security including utilizing RBPD sworn officers, RBPD Community Service Officers ( CSO), and private security companies. The cost comparisons listed below indicate that utilizing a private security company is the most cost effective method to meet the transit center security objectives. The security service options listed below are based on the current Transit Center location. An updated security needs analysis will be performed upon completion of construction of the new location.
Table 4. Estimated Cost Comparisons
Estimated Annual Cort One Year Current Transit
Position Center Location 12712 hours Der year)
Police Office Mid -Level Salary 182, 250
CSO 11 Entry Level Salary 103,565
CSO II Mid -Level Salary 121,500
Private Security Average Market Rate S 67,000
MTA/ LAC Sheriff . On -Site Rate 335,000
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Recommendations
Based on the needs evaluation and the relative cost of the options presented above, staff recommends issuing a Request For Proposal for outsourced security service at the Transit Center. The agreement will provide for security service to replace Metro security at the current location during the first term of the contract. During subsequent terms, transit security needs will be re-evaluated to provide enhanced security service, as described above, at the new location.
First Term Plan For The Current Transit Center Location Service Level: Maintain the current level of security staff at the Galleria Transit Center location through outsourced security services. Coverage: One person: 8 hours per weekday, and 6 hours per weekend day, for a total of 2,712 hours annually Estimated Cost: $25 per hour, $67,800 annually
2. Second and Subsequent Term Plan For The New Transit Center Location Service Level: Increase the level of security at the new Transit Center location through outsourced security services. This will be based on a needs evaluation upon completion of construction of the new Transit Center.
Estimated Cost: $25 per hour, $146,000 annually.
Funding
The annual budget for the Transit Center security is $ 154,420. The City receives Transit Security funds through State and Regional Formula Funding. Proposition A Funds are also used to fund transit security.
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