Anonymous wrote:Shout out to the Save Our System Campaign for their efforts to decriminalize fare evasion.

More like Save Our Local Criminal Element.

The broken window rule is that if police don't sweat the small stuff, the public feels powerless in the face of lawlessness and criminals feel more empowered to commit more serious crimes.

Shout out to the Save Our System Campaign for their efforts to decriminalize fare evasion.

Metro crime is what they're there to do. We've had some HORRIFIC crimes on metro and bus. Having fare evaders is one less way to know who is going in and out. This has nothing to do with a lack of resources and has everything to do with trendy decriminalization. What is the current penalty and how often is it applied? Let's start there and then decide if it's too onerous.

https://www.wmata.com/about/transit-police/about.cfm

"On June 4, 1976, President Ford signed into law a bill passed by Congress authorizing the establishment of the Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD). MTPD police officers have tri-state jurisdiction with responsibility for a variety of law enforcement and public safety functions in transit facilities throughout the Washington, DC Metropolitan area.
 
MTPD has an authorized strength of 490 sworn police officers, 64 security special police, and 91 civilian personnel. Officers provide a variety of law enforcement and public safety services on the Metrorail and Metrobus systems in the Washington Metropolitan Area.
MTPD police officers have jurisdiction and arrest powers throughout the 1,500 square mile Transit Zone that includes Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia for crimes that occur in or against Transit Authority facilities. It is the only tri-jurisdictional police agency in the country and serves a population of 3.2 million.

Mission Statement
The Mission of the Metro Transit Police Department is to provide protection for Metro patrons, personnel, transit facilities, and revenue.
Vision Statement
The Metro Transit Police will protect and serve our customers and employees with dignity and respect, through innovative ideas, new technologies, teamwork, integrity, a commitment to our mission, and the oath of office."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the actual penalty for jumping? There is actually an arrest and it goes to court? How often? Aside from that the district has plenty of resources and we should be putting them towards criminal justice. Where do you get the impression that we don't have the means to prosecute fare jumpers along with other cases? That's a completely random assertion.

Plenty of resources in law enforcement? Man, the District has a shortage of cops - they cannot hire them fast enough. How do you not know that? It has been well documented.

WMATA police handle metro crimes. How do you not know that?

Anonymous wrote:The reality is that fines and penalties send a signal to law enforcement on what is important to enforce. Decriminalizing fare evasion, with low fines, basically tells Metro Police not to enforce the obligation to pay to ride transit.

We've already seen what lax attention to other rules and laws has meant to Metro's functioning. Stung by criticism of enforcement of the eating and drinking prohibition on Metro vehicles and stations, Metro police have effectively backed off. The result is food and drink spilled on seats and floors of vehicles and floors of stations. Trash is accumulating on the tracks, leading to track fires sparked from arcing. A cleanliness and public health issue has also become a safety issue. I know of people who have been splashed with hot coffee as passengers have dropped their cups on trains and another who slipped on exiting a train because of a soda can rolling around in the car. Other passengers routinely ignore rules to play music and videos with headphones. More recently, people have started to bring their pets on board transit (leading to accidents) because they know that Metro will not challenge any assertion that the pet is a service animal. One sees panhandlers more frequently on the platforms and in the trains. The result of all this is a general deterioration in the Metro rider experience, and the perception that as some rules are no longer enforced or followed, some will feel license to engage in more lawless behavior.

I always thought that the food and drink restriction was ridiculous. Transit systems all over the world allow people to eat on board and somehow deal with it.

A benefit to making arrests for "petty" crimes is that the police may nab someone on an outstanding warrant for another crime. People who engage in lawless behavior usually follow a pattern.

The reality is that fines and penalties send a signal to law enforcement on what is important to enforce. Decriminalizing fare evasion, with low fines, basically tells Metro Police not to enforce the obligation to pay to ride transit.

We've already seen what lax attention to other rules and laws has meant to Metro's functioning. Stung by criticism of enforcement of the eating and drinking prohibition on Metro vehicles and stations, Metro police have effectively backed off. The result is food and drink spilled on seats and floors of vehicles and floors of stations. Trash is accumulating on the tracks, leading to track fires sparked from arcing. A cleanliness and public health issue has also become a safety issue. I know of people who have been splashed with hot coffee as passengers have dropped their cups on trains and another who slipped on exiting a train because of a soda can rolling around in the car. Other passengers routinely ignore rules to play music and videos with headphones. More recently, people have started to bring their pets on board transit (leading to accidents) because they know that Metro will not challenge any assertion that the pet is a service animal. One sees panhandlers more frequently on the platforms and in the trains. The result of all this is a general deterioration in the Metro rider experience, and the perception that as some rules are no longer enforced or followed, some will feel license to engage in more lawless behavior.

Anonymous wrote:Shout out to Siggy Meilius of Americans for Transit and Nnennaya Amuchie a social justice attorney and community organizer for making their voices heard to put an end to arrests of fare evaders.

How is letting crooks and cheaters evade the obligation to pay fares, particularly when Metro is struggling, "social justice"?

Why is obeying the law so hard for some people?

Anonymous wrote:What is the actual penalty for jumping? There is actually an arrest and it goes to court? How often? Aside from that the district has plenty of resources and we should be putting them towards criminal justice. Where do you get the impression that we don't have the means to prosecute fare jumpers along with other cases? That's a completely random assertion.

Plenty of resources in law enforcement? Man, the District has a shortage of cops - they cannot hire them fast enough. How do you not know that? It has been well documented.

Shout out to Siggy Meilius of Americans for Transit and Nnennaya Amuchie a social justice attorney and community organizer for making their voices heard to put an end to arrests of fare evaders.

What is the actual penalty for jumping? There is actually an arrest and it goes to court? How often? Aside from that the district has plenty of resources and we should be putting them towards criminal justice. Where do you get the impression that we don't have the means to prosecute fare jumpers along with other cases? That's a completely random assertion.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, I think as taxpayers we have to ask whether we want our law enforcement and prosecutor resources to be used to deal with fare jumping when there are lot more serious and impactful things they could be doing. That is always the point of these decriminalization initiatives - to prioritize and re-allocate finite resources. A $25 fine and/or a desk ticket is fine with me.

Good luck getting the little thugs to pay the fine, they don't care about being arrested because the juvenile justice system in this city is a joke, what makes you think the current fare jumpers are going to care about a fine they'll never pay?

Well, I am not in the habit of calling a fare jumper a "thug." I grew up in NYC and two things I know - I know some REAL thugs and I know that fare jumpers come in many forms.

You are focused on the fine and that is not even the point. You just said yourself that arresting them does not help anything - so why do it? Put another way, as a taxpayer, I do not want the finite resources of the District focused on arresting and prosecuting fare jumpers. You are spending much more than $25 in prosecuting the crime. It is a waste of resources when they could be deployed elsewhere.

Anonymous wrote:Well, I think as taxpayers we have to ask whether we want our law enforcement and prosecutor resources to be used to deal with fare jumping when there are lot more serious and impactful things they could be doing. That is always the point of these decriminalization initiatives - to prioritize and re-allocate finite resources. A $25 fine and/or a desk ticket is fine with me.

Good luck getting the little thugs to pay the fine, they don't care about being arrested because the juvenile justice system in this city is a joke, what makes you think the current fare jumpers are going to care about a fine they'll never pay?

Well, I think as taxpayers we have to ask whether we want our law enforcement and prosecutor resources to be used to deal with fare jumping when there are lot more serious and impactful things they could be doing. That is always the point of these decriminalization initiatives - to prioritize and re-allocate finite resources. A $25 fine and/or a desk ticket is fine with me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you understand what "decriminalization" means? It's still an offense, it's just not a criminal offense. You have to pay a fine, you can't be arrested or sent to jail for it. Why should not paying a Metro fare be treated any more harshly than failing to pay a parking meter?

+1 HHS Secretary Tom Price cost tax payers nearly 1mn$ with his elective private jet trips and all that happened was that he got fired. Why criminalize behavior that costs tax payers just 4$?

Absolutely. Metro is outrageously expensive, especially for kids and young adults. If it were possible fiscally, I'd want Metro to be free for everyone. If I don't pay the $4 toll on the Delaware Memorial Bridge, the fine is $25. Why should the penalties for not paying the Metro fare be any more severe?

Well... here is my reasoning on this.
When you don’t pay a toll in your car, they have your license plate to track you down. Pretty easily.
If you don’t pay a metro toll, they have no identifying information to track you down. Plus, if you jump the gate, that sets off a chase that could be hazardous to other passengers.
So, it is more a deterrent than anything. Make the penalty more serious, people will think twice about doing it.

So you criminalize behavior and have the resultant costs of lawyers and jail just over a $4 fare? We need to be smart about the crimes we tackle. It's not cost efficient to prosecute poor people who try to sneak into Metro. A fine is sufficient.