Police seek more presence at Hillsboro and other stops
Hillsboro Police spokesman Lt. Michael Rouches says he’d like to see increased MAX patrols at all nine stations in Hillsboro.
So far this year, Hillsboro police have responded to an average of 240 to 250 incidents a month at the stations. The Willow Creek/185th Avenue Station is the most troublesome one, racking up more than 1,582 responses so far this year.
“They include fights, drug dealing, drug use, car prowls, you name it,” Rouches said.
Hansen called the summits after 71-year-old Laurie Lee Chilcote was beaten Nov. 3 by a 15-year-old suspected gang member at a Gresham MAX station. Although the attack sparked public debate about crime and safety along the MAX line, local law enforcement agencies have been discussing the issue among themselves for years.
Two days before the attack, Bishop had sent Hansen a letter saying agencies in Clackamas and Washington counties had tentatively agreed to form a westside patrol division. The day before the attack, Bemis announced that his police would begin patrolling the MAX line within the Gresham city limits.
Both announcements were based on a growing feeling that crime was out of control along the line, despite the fact that it already was patrolled by the Transit Police Division, a branch of the Portland Police Bureau composed of members of most of the law enforcement agencies within TriMet’s service area.
At a Thursday TriMet safety summit, Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer and other law enforcement officials said a consistent and visible police presence along the line is necessary to deter crime. They called on TriMet to enforce good behavior among riders, saying that even a few rude and offense passengers can create a hostile environment.
And law enforcement officials in areas of Washington County where MAX doesn’t run have expressed concern that the transit system allows young gang members to travel through the county for recruiting purposes.
Rouches conceded that the solution is likely to cost far more than the $7.4 million TriMet has approved to finance the 28-member transit police next year. Although the money also will pay for 36 Wackenhut private security guards, they have no authority to arrest or exclude riders - or even check whether the riders bought tickets.
“I think that a force of 50 to 60 officers could effectively manage the line,” Rouches said.
Even that large a force might not be enough in coming years, when TriMet completes its extensions into Clackamas County.
“The MAX light-rail system will soon run through three counties and five of our region’s cities from 4 a.m. to after midnight providing well over 100,000 rides throughout the day,” TriMet General Manager Fred Hansen wrote in a letter inviting participants to safety summits the agency held last week.