TriMet’s Security Operations Center helping to improve agency’s safety efforts
In September, TriMet opened its new Security Operations Center. The center pulls together the agency’s security resources under one roof, including the security hotline. Operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the center anchors TriMet’s ongoing safety and security efforts.
Inside the center, screens cycle through more than 3,000 closed-circuit camera views, providing live broadcasts from across the TriMet system. The agency notes dispatchers are stationed in front of computers with software that helps them send TriMet’s safety and security staff and contractors to where they’re needed.
The agency notes members of the public can reach security dispatchers to report incidents or security concerns by calling or texting the Security Operations Center using a blue-light security phone or by visiting TriMet’s website and clicking the security icon in the shape of a badge in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
More resources than ever before
During the past 2.5 years, TriMet has more than doubled the number of safety and security personnel it has on the system, improved lighting at stations and parking lots and upgraded closed-circuit security camera views. The agency notes the improvements come in addition to TriMet’s recent efforts to enhance station and vehicle cleaning, as well as boost enforcement of its rules.
TriMet now has seven dispatchers that have received specialized training. The dispatchers monitor the system and respond to rider and employee concerns in real-time. The agency notes the center aims to improve security response and address other concerns on the system.
“This is really just the beginning,” said TriMet Executive Director of Safety and Security Andrew Wilson. “We continue to build out our emergency response capabilities at TriMet. We’ve heard it from our riders and we’ve heard it from our employees that we need to be able to react to the needs that are out there with the tools that we have developed.”
The agency notes a total of 14 security phones will be installed on platforms between the Rose Quarter and the Gateway Transit Center. The phones are distinctive and designed to stand out, some with red towers and the word security written down the side and topped with a blue light, visible day or night. The agency notes the phones are similar to what college campuses have used for more than 30 years, which have been shown to help deter criminal behavior on campuses.
Streamlining security responses
TriMet says the Security Operations Center comes as the agency now has around 475 field staff and contractors dedicated to the safety and well-being of riders and employees. They are spread across various teams, including transit security officers, customer safety supervisors, customer safety officers and Safety Response Team, all of whom can be dispatched through the Security Operations Center. TriMet notes their main goal is to provide a presence that reduces bad behavior and they’re all trained in de-escalation techniques.
The agency also has on-street customer service. While not security, TriMet says they do provide an extra presence on the system. They will also report suspicious or inappropriate behavior.
TriMet notes its Safety Response Team, which performs welfare checks on and around the transit system, assisted more than 4,000 people and connected another 6,000 to social services in 2023 alone. The Transit Police Division, overseen by the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, now has more time to conduct safety and security operations–patrols and missions, which led to a reduction in calls for police service by more than 50 percent between 2021 and 2023.
More safety and security investments coming
Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, a new drug law will be implemented statewide, making the use of illicit drugs on public transit vehicles the most serious misdemeanor, punishable by up to 364 days in jail. TriMet notes the law allows those convicted to access state-funded treatment in many instances. The agency advocated for the law’s passage through the Oregon Legislature, believing that it provides a framework for more enforcement with stronger repercussions while at the same time, providing opportunities for treatment and the expungement of criminal records.
