Metro eyes adding police officers

Metro’s new transit police chief wants to add 25 police officers and three police sergeants to help battle a spike in crime in the system and to cope with the region’s growing number of special events.

General Manager John Catoe told Metro’s board of directors that he will revise his proposed budget for the coming fiscal year to include $2.3 million for the new officers.

Metro currently has 416 sworn officers and five unfilled spots.

“We looked at the overtime account, the growth of the system in the last few years and the growth of crime,” Catoe said, explaining the rationale for the request.

The Examiner reported March 26 that robberies on the transit system doubled in January and February as part of a nationwide trend in thefts of iPods and other electronics.

Metro also reported a spike in assaults on bus operators last year.

The new officers would be primarily dedicated to working during commutes to and from major events, freeing up the remaining officers to focus on problem areas in the system, new Transit Police Chief Michael Taborn said.

Metro deals with more than 200 major events every year, ranging from parades and protests to sporting events and inaugurations, spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said.

“We’re responsible for making sure that the people who travel to those events are protected,” Taborn said.

Taborn, who was sworn in as chief last month, has said he would conduct a comprehensive review of the department’s operations.

He said Thursday that he will redeploy officers from other parts of the system to focus on crime hotspots and areas where rowdy schoolchildren gather at the end of the school day.

D.C. schools do not have their own school bus fleet, relying on Metrobus to drive students to and from school.

Metro last added positions to the Transit Police Department in 2006, creating 20 new positions for plainclothes officers who were assigned to bus routes.

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