BPS to try to figure out how to make middle-school girls feel safer on the T

If these girls need some sort of Imperator Furiosa to ensure that they get safely from point A to point B without a bunch of disgusting, leering men ruining their day, I'm sure we could find some volunteers. Prosthetic arm optional.

And, I mean, if we replaced all MBTA vehicles with Furiosa's war rig, that would be awesome, too.

As opposed to driving around town, waiting for that all-important call? You know, like all the posters in the subway warn you about not committing crime since they're "there"--both uniformed and not?

This past Saturday, after getting off an Orange Line, a woman, clearly high, fell into the tracks after the train left and was pulled out just as quickly by her boyfriend and another passenger. No cell phone videos, no big media story, just your run-of-the-mill kind of incident that didn't even hold up service since the next train was about eight minutes away.

Since the platform level customer service booth was at the usual level of staffing (i.e. not) , several of us reported the incident to the Customer Service Agent upstairs, who, in turn, reported it to the one, one, on-duty police officer for the third-busiest train station in the City. Officer Couldn't-Care-Less sauntered off in the direction the woman and her boyfriend were heading and wound up overseeing another man who was laying against a pillar outside, bleeding profusely from his head. I'm sure the "what's the problem heah?" was code for, "Let me get an ambulance right away!"

Don't get me wrong--I realize Transit Police have a rather thankless job to do--I just think a more visible presence and proactive approach (not to mention empathy for hardworking people who rely on the MBTA every day) would help deter crime in the subways, buses, etc. Since there seems to be a correlation between fare gate crashers and people with warrants, I should think that crime would be drastically reduced around town by just standing by a set of fare gates for an hour, catching folks in the act. I do realize that's asking a lot since it's the same principle by which officers claim it's "so hard" to catch people texting-while-driving even though I count over a dozen people every time I bike to/from work.

This may sound rather off the wall, but stay with me:

Suppose by means of a special act of the legislature a dedicated transit police force for the MBTA were created. These special officers would be given jurisdiction over the subway and bus lines and help supplement any existing municipal police departments in the areas served by the T.

But here's where it gets real innovative...

A certain number of officers would be detailed, given the size of the area to be patrolled and available manpower, to expressly patrol the bus routes. Ideally, the tour of duty for the officer would overlap with the run of a bus operator; that way several trips and routes could be covered by one person. Rotate the officers among as many bus operator runs as possible to maximize the number of trips and routes patrolled.

If there are teenage boys being assholes, then the cop can tell them to chill out with that bullshit. If there are men who never learned what the words "uncouth" and "pedophile" mean, they can get a ride to the police station to pick up their free dictionary.

The Transit Police once had a very effective, elite undercover unit whose eleven members made half of the arrests on a force of 200+. Posing as vagrants, business people and everyday T riders, they did a terrific job arresting the disorderly, the gropers, the fare evaders, and general impact players. This is the best link I could find.

Of course "profiling" (the school system is 88% non-white) and "civil rights" violations were soon alleged and the unit was forced to disband. That was 2001 when cops were still somewhat respected. In today's anti-police environment, I wouldn't expect a police solution any time soon. That train has left the station, pun intended.

As someone who spends way too much time commuting on the B Line and the 57 bus, I've seen tons of rude, threatening, loud, inconsiderate, and antisocial behavior perpetrated by school kids, directed at each other and other riders. This includes catcalling, loud music with no headphones, basketball playing (yes, really), racial and homophobic slurs, and more. I'm frequently reminded of the Bernie Goetz era.

It's pretty easy to figure out where and when this behavior is most likely to occur -- right before and right after school, on routes heavily traveled by upper-middle and high-school kids. Why can't police beef up their presence focusing on those times and places? Both uniformed and undercover?