"Last week, Rep. Lateefah Simon called a conference inside Oakland's 19th Street BART station to introduce a federal bill that could have big implications for transit safety. There, Simon, who represents Oakland and other East Bay cities in Congress, announced that she had introduced the Rapid Intervention and Deterrence for Enhanced Rider Safety Act, or the RIDER Safety Act, which would allow transit agencies across the country to tap federal crime prevention funds to pay for "transit support specialists" rather than exclusively law enforcement officers."
"The text of the bill, introduced in November and currently being debated in the Congressional Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, says that these unarmed roles will collaborate with law enforcement to deter and report disruptive behavior, assist with medical emergencies, and handle minor, noncriminal conflicts. "We support all of our riders," Simon said at the morning conference as riders walked by. "An integrated approach was desperately needed. And now we want to spread that model all over the nation. Transit ambassadors ease the burden on sworn officers, allowing them to focus on urgent safety and violent crime.""
The RIDER Safety Act would allow transit agencies to use federal crime-prevention funds to hire unarmed transit support specialists focused on de-escalation, crisis response, and handling minor noncriminal conflicts. These specialists would collaborate with law enforcement to deter and report disruptive behavior and assist with medical emergencies. The proposal builds on Oakland's MACRO program and BART's ambassador and crisis intervention roles. The bill was introduced in November and is under review in the Congressional Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. BART reported a 41% year-over-year decrease in system crime, attributed in part to coordinated work between sworn officers and unarmed staff.
Read at The Oaklandside
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