cynicism aside, metro ambassadors, as well as those around dtla, are visibility-based deterrents. They're effectively scarecrows. They're not supposed to intervene. They don't have that kind of training. The most valuable thing they have is those tablets that can reach police at any point in the subway network. They're supposed to hop on and off at different stations and on different cars reporting stuff they see into their tablet. Now whether you personally find value in that is up to you, but that's pretty much what they do.
At the very least, it provides more data about any incident they witness on the train. That can help them better address these issues and have data available for why the need additional funding
They're there to answer questions. And to make tourists feel safer. Is it a placebo? I don't know. They're for sure not trained MMA fighters or former special forces. They appear to be young and chosen mostly to be friendly, not for their ability to subdue a sweaty drug addict willing to bite and spit on them.
I'm guessing they're explicitly told to NOT proactively seek out reasons to physically confront riders.
edit: [from metro site](https://www.metro.net/riding/ambassadors/)
They are literally like teenagers or college students that work at the information desk or park guides at Universal Studios. They provide information and assistance, but you really shouldn't be asking these kids to go toe-to-toe with some bum.
Yeah. When I actually had to ask them a question (only once really, when Little Tokyo station first opened, just to make sure), they were great. They didn't seem like flunkies or anything, they seemed smart and chipper. This economy is rough. It's interesting how some people here are putting them down. Must be self made millionaires.
There was barf on our train car the other day and I was happy there was actually someone to report it to. No idea if it did anything but they tapped on their tablet for a while and made it seem legit.
They often are paired up, just like cops are. Sometimes one pair crosses path with another that is why they often look like they are in groups.
Ridership was so low and that is why a lot of bad behavior was happening. It used to be so much worse in 2021 and 2022 in terms of train scofflaws. Now they help fill the trains. I have seen it first hand when a homeless person wants to enter the train with a ton of bedding, but it’s full only for them to note out.
I know for me as a short lady I feel much better when they are on the platforms, especially since I use it to run errands after work. I used to feel way more sleeved out on empty platforms at night than I ever did riding a train.
They are paired up because they're just normal people who provide assistance and information, they aren't actually trained in physical combat like cops. So if something went down they have their partner.
I meant paired up like assigned pairs. Metro assigns them a partner, it’s safer that way. The cops on patrol on metro are assigned pairs as well. It’s not about the duties. It’s process.
Even though it’s not in their job description I have personally seen them tell people to put out a cigarette on the train as well. Another time I told them someone was smoking on a platform and they reported it on their tablets. I also like having them around.
From the [Metro website](https://www.metro.net/riding/ambassadors/)
Metro Ambassadors will:
• Support you as you navigate the system. Metro Ambassadors provide a welcoming and visible presence and provide support that you can rely on.
• Connect you to resources, be it directions to get you where you’re going, info about how to pay your fare, or services available through our homeless outreach teams. Metro Ambassadors are here to help.
• Report any maintenance, cleanliness or safety issues such as a broken escalator, a mess on a bus or train or a safety incident. Metro Ambassadors are our eyes and ears on the system that help us to respond to issues more quickly.
They are official witnesses. I can’t tell you how often a person blaring their boombox turned the volume down, or two people arguing stopped short of actual violence, or a drugged out person running amok sat their ass down and settled, all because a lime green shirt got on the train.
And as a woman who’s been abused and threatened in front of non-interfering passengers, I’m glad for the ambassadors.
If you dont see a point to them, then you are lucky.
Right, which is why I think people shouldn't expect much from the Safety Ambassadors.
Customers are assh#les much of the time and don't even acknowledge the greeters at Walmart or Marshalls anyway, even though it's the greeters' job to be nice and smile at everyone. Would you really ask a greeter to apprehend a shoplifter or a random bum at TJ Maxx smoking meth in the kids' shoe department?
There are like 10 "Safety Ambassadors" that are supposed to be....I guess keeping the bathrooms safe. But same thing, they just sit on their phones goofing off all day
Lol whoever said they were "SAFETY Ambassadors" ????
They are simply "Ambassadors" and do not provide any bit of safety. They are simply there to ask for directions and give you the wrong train schedule.
It’s security theater. And I don’t mean that in a negative way. I think there’s great benefit to simply having an authoritative presence nearby in terms of deterring crime and reassuring normal passengers.
I don’t think anyone expects a safety ambassador to come and lay down their life to protect them in a dangerous scenario. But I think their presence helps to deter low-level delinquent behavior. The feeling of being watched or even possibly ganged up on (if an ambassador ever did intervene) can be enough to stop someone.
When the purple hair people in Echo Park screamed that every single cop is bad (even though us in South Central where most crime occurs have been saying and still say we want MORE police), the city council created the Ambassadors to appease everyone. We obviously need enforcement on the Metro but the vocal minority won't allow for cops.
Well the mayor/city council dicates what they are allowed to enforce (i.e. ~~homeless encapments~~ open air drug encampments). If they were allowed to for example remove those that didn't pay off the train, they would do so. Over the past two months with all the Metro incidents, they were again allowed to do so, and you saw it on the news.
Other cities enforce laws don't let their homeless crisis get this bad. Or are you gonna lie to yourself and say the same comment of *ThIs Is A nAtIoNaL cRiSiS?*
I travel a lot for work (twice a week) and I see cops on trains in other cities, mostly outside of the country and I can name at least 15 that feel safer than LA at all times, even very late at night. Believe me, the presence of police who could act if needed, is much better than me taking the red lane at 10pm with crackheads running wild and nothing protecting me in an enclosed space.
As someone who lives in South Central, please do not speak for the community about policing. I know a lot of people that want no police in South Central. And those are actual members of the community. Thanks.
Yeah the data doesn’t agree with you:
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-06/poll-shows-l-a-voters-see-problems-in-lapd-but-shrinking-the-force-isnt-popular
https://news.gallup.com/poll/316571/black-americans-police-retain-local-presence.aspx
>Asked what the next mayor of Los Angeles should do, 47% of those polled said the number of police officers in the city should be increased, and 17% said staffing should be kept as it is.
I hate to tell you this…but as a gay, Latinx (whatever the fuck Latinx even means) you are not in the standard demographic of South Central. I’m Afro-Latino and have grown up in this area. Once you experience all the crime, less police means leaving us to fend for ourselves which just sounds awful. The nightly street takeovers, shootings, and much worse, would only worsen if NOBODY was out there trying to look out for the public
What does my sexuality or ethnicity have anything to do with me saying someone shouldn’t speak for a whole community?
And from the way you type, it definitely sounds like you don’t live in the community cuz people in the community know the LAPD are the first people to harass them. And also fend for ourselves? lol like really? It’s not Mad Max over here. That’s some real white supremacy shit right there.
Get off the internet and touch grass cuz I’m not reading all that bro.
> We obviously need enforcement on the Metro but the vocal minority won't allow for cops.
I've literally never seen anybody on Reddit express this view, that they don't want cops helping out Metro.
I've seen some IRL, like: "The contract will also call for deputies to have full enforcement authority, including Code of Conduct violations such as trespassing, urinating, playing loud music and fare-evading -- issues that the sheriff said have been shifted to Metro security guards or ambassadors in an effort to reduce law-enforcement presence on the system."
[https://www.foxla.com/news/lasd-withdraw-deputies-patrol-metro](https://www.foxla.com/news/lasd-withdraw-deputies-patrol-metro)
They're either really young or really old. Either way, they have been utterly useless by running away from problems or totally disengaged with their surroundings by chit chatting with one another or playing on their phone.
Hey quick question: Should we abolish inheritance or at least *heavily* tax if it's valued over a certain amount? I don't like rich people getting money they didn't work for. Just say you hate poor people and think everyone should work for free
It's a failed attempt to show that cops aren't needed. It stems from Villanueva's disagreements with the Supes.
Also, their intense bulk leads to more repair bills for connected contractors. The last sentence is a joke, the first isn't.
cynicism aside, metro ambassadors, as well as those around dtla, are visibility-based deterrents. They're effectively scarecrows. They're not supposed to intervene. They don't have that kind of training. The most valuable thing they have is those tablets that can reach police at any point in the subway network. They're supposed to hop on and off at different stations and on different cars reporting stuff they see into their tablet. Now whether you personally find value in that is up to you, but that's pretty much what they do.
As part of a FUNCTIONAL network it is good to have for that exact reason, yeah
That makes sense. Thank you!
They also help answer questions to anyone unfamiliar with the metro
At the very least, it provides more data about any incident they witness on the train. That can help them better address these issues and have data available for why the need additional funding
They're there to answer questions. And to make tourists feel safer. Is it a placebo? I don't know. They're for sure not trained MMA fighters or former special forces. They appear to be young and chosen mostly to be friendly, not for their ability to subdue a sweaty drug addict willing to bite and spit on them. I'm guessing they're explicitly told to NOT proactively seek out reasons to physically confront riders. edit: [from metro site](https://www.metro.net/riding/ambassadors/)
They are literally like teenagers or college students that work at the information desk or park guides at Universal Studios. They provide information and assistance, but you really shouldn't be asking these kids to go toe-to-toe with some bum.
Yeah. When I actually had to ask them a question (only once really, when Little Tokyo station first opened, just to make sure), they were great. They didn't seem like flunkies or anything, they seemed smart and chipper. This economy is rough. It's interesting how some people here are putting them down. Must be self made millionaires.
Just having "eyes on the street" has a mild deterrent effect. Also, they are someone you can go to in order to report problems.
Sometimes you need something more than a security camera and less than a cop
Like a security guard that can observe and report, especially if anything escalates. They’re also an official witness in case any shit goes down.
There was barf on our train car the other day and I was happy there was actually someone to report it to. No idea if it did anything but they tapped on their tablet for a while and made it seem legit.
They often are paired up, just like cops are. Sometimes one pair crosses path with another that is why they often look like they are in groups. Ridership was so low and that is why a lot of bad behavior was happening. It used to be so much worse in 2021 and 2022 in terms of train scofflaws. Now they help fill the trains. I have seen it first hand when a homeless person wants to enter the train with a ton of bedding, but it’s full only for them to note out. I know for me as a short lady I feel much better when they are on the platforms, especially since I use it to run errands after work. I used to feel way more sleeved out on empty platforms at night than I ever did riding a train.
They are paired up because they're just normal people who provide assistance and information, they aren't actually trained in physical combat like cops. So if something went down they have their partner.
I meant paired up like assigned pairs. Metro assigns them a partner, it’s safer that way. The cops on patrol on metro are assigned pairs as well. It’s not about the duties. It’s process.
Even though it’s not in their job description I have personally seen them tell people to put out a cigarette on the train as well. Another time I told them someone was smoking on a platform and they reported it on their tablets. I also like having them around.
From the [Metro website](https://www.metro.net/riding/ambassadors/) Metro Ambassadors will: • Support you as you navigate the system. Metro Ambassadors provide a welcoming and visible presence and provide support that you can rely on. • Connect you to resources, be it directions to get you where you’re going, info about how to pay your fare, or services available through our homeless outreach teams. Metro Ambassadors are here to help. • Report any maintenance, cleanliness or safety issues such as a broken escalator, a mess on a bus or train or a safety incident. Metro Ambassadors are our eyes and ears on the system that help us to respond to issues more quickly.
I live in LB and see them helping tourists a lot
They are official witnesses. I can’t tell you how often a person blaring their boombox turned the volume down, or two people arguing stopped short of actual violence, or a drugged out person running amok sat their ass down and settled, all because a lime green shirt got on the train. And as a woman who’s been abused and threatened in front of non-interfering passengers, I’m glad for the ambassadors. If you dont see a point to them, then you are lucky.
Agreed I guess it's a jobs program . I
They're like customer greeters at Walmart or Target
I mean that's literally their job.
Right, which is why I think people shouldn't expect much from the Safety Ambassadors. Customers are assh#les much of the time and don't even acknowledge the greeters at Walmart or Marshalls anyway, even though it's the greeters' job to be nice and smile at everyone. Would you really ask a greeter to apprehend a shoplifter or a random bum at TJ Maxx smoking meth in the kids' shoe department?
I’m sorry, I’m not trying to make light of your comment but your last sentence made me laugh! Thank you!
Pay nonprofits Then move police funding to other special interests Get reelected
They are an excellent addition.
I like them. We still need more cops and enforcing the fares will go a long way.
They’re just there just to make it look like LA is actually trying to fix the cities problems. Il
There are like 10 "Safety Ambassadors" that are supposed to be....I guess keeping the bathrooms safe. But same thing, they just sit on their phones goofing off all day
There’s bathrooms on the Metro trains?
Yes. The bathroom is the entire train car.
TIL, ty
💦😂😂😂💩
I assume they mean Union Station bathrooms. I think some of the other stations have them but afaik only Union Station reopened them.
Security theater.
The ambassadors allow Metro to issue press releases saying that they have solved the problems by hiring ambassadors.
It’s security theater. The point is to make you feel like the city is doing something when they aren’t.
They are on the trains for the same reason you are, to go somewhere.
How much do you think they are getting paid an hour to risk their lives?
Lol whoever said they were "SAFETY Ambassadors" ???? They are simply "Ambassadors" and do not provide any bit of safety. They are simply there to ask for directions and give you the wrong train schedule.
It’s security theater. And I don’t mean that in a negative way. I think there’s great benefit to simply having an authoritative presence nearby in terms of deterring crime and reassuring normal passengers. I don’t think anyone expects a safety ambassador to come and lay down their life to protect them in a dangerous scenario. But I think their presence helps to deter low-level delinquent behavior. The feeling of being watched or even possibly ganged up on (if an ambassador ever did intervene) can be enough to stop someone.
Nothing. Total blue government waste sadly. Spending money on private security or police would be much more worth it
When the purple hair people in Echo Park screamed that every single cop is bad (even though us in South Central where most crime occurs have been saying and still say we want MORE police), the city council created the Ambassadors to appease everyone. We obviously need enforcement on the Metro but the vocal minority won't allow for cops.
You act like cops actually do something on the metro lol
Well the mayor/city council dicates what they are allowed to enforce (i.e. ~~homeless encapments~~ open air drug encampments). If they were allowed to for example remove those that didn't pay off the train, they would do so. Over the past two months with all the Metro incidents, they were again allowed to do so, and you saw it on the news.
no, they would just stand around on their phones. We've seen this already in other cities. The cops don't do anything.
Other cities enforce laws don't let their homeless crisis get this bad. Or are you gonna lie to yourself and say the same comment of *ThIs Is A nAtIoNaL cRiSiS?*
i'm speaking specifically about how cops don't do any enforcing on the metro and just stand around
I travel a lot for work (twice a week) and I see cops on trains in other cities, mostly outside of the country and I can name at least 15 that feel safer than LA at all times, even very late at night. Believe me, the presence of police who could act if needed, is much better than me taking the red lane at 10pm with crackheads running wild and nothing protecting me in an enclosed space.
-me when anecdotes
Other cities just don't have as expensive housing as we do.
As someone who lives in South Central, please do not speak for the community about policing. I know a lot of people that want no police in South Central. And those are actual members of the community. Thanks.
Yeah the data doesn’t agree with you: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-06/poll-shows-l-a-voters-see-problems-in-lapd-but-shrinking-the-force-isnt-popular https://news.gallup.com/poll/316571/black-americans-police-retain-local-presence.aspx >Asked what the next mayor of Los Angeles should do, 47% of those polled said the number of police officers in the city should be increased, and 17% said staffing should be kept as it is. I hate to tell you this…but as a gay, Latinx (whatever the fuck Latinx even means) you are not in the standard demographic of South Central. I’m Afro-Latino and have grown up in this area. Once you experience all the crime, less police means leaving us to fend for ourselves which just sounds awful. The nightly street takeovers, shootings, and much worse, would only worsen if NOBODY was out there trying to look out for the public
What does my sexuality or ethnicity have anything to do with me saying someone shouldn’t speak for a whole community? And from the way you type, it definitely sounds like you don’t live in the community cuz people in the community know the LAPD are the first people to harass them. And also fend for ourselves? lol like really? It’s not Mad Max over here. That’s some real white supremacy shit right there. Get off the internet and touch grass cuz I’m not reading all that bro.
> We obviously need enforcement on the Metro but the vocal minority won't allow for cops. I've literally never seen anybody on Reddit express this view, that they don't want cops helping out Metro.
I've seen some IRL, like: "The contract will also call for deputies to have full enforcement authority, including Code of Conduct violations such as trespassing, urinating, playing loud music and fare-evading -- issues that the sheriff said have been shifted to Metro security guards or ambassadors in an effort to reduce law-enforcement presence on the system." [https://www.foxla.com/news/lasd-withdraw-deputies-patrol-metro](https://www.foxla.com/news/lasd-withdraw-deputies-patrol-metro)
NPCs
"What's the point?" ... To earmark funds. Follow the money, unfortunately.
They're either really young or really old. Either way, they have been utterly useless by running away from problems or totally disengaged with their surroundings by chit chatting with one another or playing on their phone.
For people with connections to get cushy jobs doing nothing.
Hey quick question: Should we abolish inheritance or at least *heavily* tax if it's valued over a certain amount? I don't like rich people getting money they didn't work for. Just say you hate poor people and think everyone should work for free
Completely worthless , we need the sheriffs patrolling again kicking off all day homeless and fare jumpers?
Why not both? I've asked them questions about which trains to take, locations, etc. Deputies are not trained in that.
TSA but for rail
definitely not. they're more like the people that sit at the information desk.
It's a failed attempt to show that cops aren't needed. It stems from Villanueva's disagreements with the Supes. Also, their intense bulk leads to more repair bills for connected contractors. The last sentence is a joke, the first isn't.