Metro is considering recruiting a new breed of crime fighter: its riders.
The transit agency is weighing a program that would allow passengers to text or e-mail Metro Transit Police from their cell phones or BlackBerrys to report a crime in the system.
The idea, which sprung from an employee, will be tested among employees who ride the system, Transit Police Chief Michael Taborn said.
“We are in the planning and development process at this time — we’re still a few weeks away from launching it,” he said. “If it’s successful, we could look at how it could work with the public.”
The texts or e-mails would be sent to the police dispatcher, who would contact the officer nearest the offender.
The program would give riders a means of contacting police quickly and discreetly, Taborn said.
Passengers currently can report criminal or disruptive behavior by using the intercom system to contact the train operator or by reporting the incident to the station manager.
“It’s just another tool that we can just put in our toolbox that will aid us in getting reports of crimes,” Taborn said.
Transit police received 34,876 calls for help between January and the end of July. They made 1,026 arrests and wrote 5,474 citations during the period.
Patrol officers are responsible for a 1,500-square-mile area that includes 106 miles of track, 117 station mezzanines, 1,500 buses and several station parking lots.
Transit police coordinate with jurisdictional police in the areas surrounding Metro stations.
