Title
A MOTION relating to the security of transit passengers and operators.
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WHEREAS, public transportation plays a vital role in increasing mobility and access throughout King County, with the transit division ("Metro Transit") providing more than one hundred twenty million transit boardings during 2015, and
WHEREAS, King County has a significant interest in eliminating barriers to transit and in providing passengers with affordable, convenient and safe access to transit, and
WHEREAS, ensuring the safety and security of Metro Transit services and facilities, as measured by minimizing operator and passenger incidents and assaults, is one of the goals of the 2011-2021 Strategic Plan for Public Transportation, and
WHEREAS, Metro Transit produced in 2011, a system security plan that exists to guide Metro Transit's efforts to maintain and improve the safe operations of its vehicles and the safety and security of its facilities, and
WHEREAS, Metro Transit will in 2016 undergo a process to review the System Security Plan and provide any needed updates, and
WHEREAS, Metro Transit has convened a security working group that is examining several crime reduction and prevention strategies such as a potential expansion of coach cameras or the deployment of transit security personnel based on real time reporting of crime that is observed by transit operators, and
WHEREAS, average assaults per month on Metro Transit services and facilities have declined following the implementation of the assault reduction program in 2008, but still average more than five assaults per month;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
A. It is the policy of the county that the safety of transit operators and passengers is of paramount importance and that measures should be taken to ensure that Metro Transit services and facilities are convenient, accessible and safe for passengers and operators.
B.1. The executive is requested to develop and transmit...

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