Editing Washington Metro (section)

=== Security ===
{{Main|Metro Transit Police Department}}
[[File:Metro Transit Police at Virginia Square–GMU Station.jpg|thumb|right|Metro Transit Police vehicles at [[Virginia Square–GMU station]]]]
Metro planners designed the system with passenger safety and order maintenance as primary considerations. The open vaulted ceiling design of stations and the limited obstructions on platforms allow few opportunities to conceal criminal activity. Station platforms are built away from station walls to limit vandalism and provide for diffused lighting of the station from recessed lights. Metro's attempts to reduce crime, combined with how the station environments were designed with [[Crime prevention through environmental design|crime prevention]] in mind,<ref name="lavigne">{{cite web |title=Visibility and Vigilance: Metro's Situational Approach to Preventing Subway Crime (Research in Brief) |publisher=National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice |url=http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/166372.pdf |last=La Vigne |first=Nancy G. |date=November 1997 |journal= |access-date=July 26, 2006 |archive-date=December 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221010226/https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/166372.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> have contributed to Metro being among the safest and cleanest subway systems in the United States.<ref name="lavigne2">{{Cite book |title=Preventing Mass Transit Crime |last=La Vigne |first=Nancy G. |publisher=Criminal Justice Press |year=1996 |isbn=1-881798-28-3 |editor-last=Clarke |editor-first=Ronald V. |chapter=Safe Transport: Security by Design on the Washington Metro (Chapter 6)}}</ref> There are nearly 6,000 video surveillance cameras used across the system to enhance security.<ref>{{cite news |title=Metro Plans to Triple Number of Security Cameras |url=http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Metro-Plans-to-Triple-Number-of-Security-Cameras-200859881.html |access-date=October 31, 2015 |work=NBC Washington |date=April 1, 2013 |archive-date=September 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907010427/http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Metro-Plans-to-Triple-Number-of-Security-Cameras-200859881.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Metro is patrolled by its own police force, which is charged with ensuring the safety of passengers and employees. Transit Police officers patrol the Metro and [[Metrobus (Washington, D.C.)|Metrobus]] systems, and they have jurisdiction and arrest powers throughout the {{convert|1500|sqmi|adj=on}} Metro service area for crimes that occur on or against transit authority facilities, or within {{convert|150|ft}} of a Metrobus stop. The Metro Transit Police Department is one of two U.S. police agencies that has local police authority in three "state"-level jurisdictions (Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia), the [[United States Park Police|U.S. Park Police]] being the other.<ref name="Metro Police">{{cite web |url=https://www.wmata.com/about/transit-police/ |title=Transit Police |publisher=[[WMATA]] |access-date=February 5, 2017 |archive-date=May 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509062256/https://www.wmata.com/about/transit-police/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Each city and county in the Metro service area has similar ordinances that regulate or prohibit vending on Metro-owned property, and which prohibit riders from eating, drinking, or smoking in Metro trains, buses, and stations; the Transit Police have a reputation for enforcing these laws rigorously. One widely publicized incident occurred in October 2000 when police arrested 12-year-old Ansche Hedgepeth for eating [[french fries]] in the {{wmata|Tenleytown–AU}} station.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.findlaw.com/wp/docs/crights/dcfrycase93003opn.pdf |title=Hedgepeth v. WMATA, et al. |date=September 30, 2003 |publisher=United States District Court for the District of Columbia |last=Sullivan |first=Emmet G. }}</ref> In a 2004 opinion by [[John Roberts]], now [[Chief Justice of the United States]], the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit|D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals]] upheld Hedgepeth's arrest.<ref name="Hedgepeth case">[https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/4424E38DE56CFBEE85256F82006D607C/$file/03-7149a.pdf ''Hedgepeth v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207220115/https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/4424E38DE56CFBEE85256F82006D607C/$file/03-7149a.pdf |date=February 7, 2017 }}, 386 [[F.3d]] 1148 ([[D.C. Cir.]] 2004) (Argued September 17, 2004, decided October 26, 2004)</ref> By then WMATA had answered negative publicity by adopting a policy of first issuing warnings to [[Minor (law)|juveniles]], and arresting them only after three violations within a year.

Metro's [[zero tolerance]] policy on food, trash and other sources of disorder embodies the "[[Broken windows theory|broken windows]]" philosophy of crime reduction. This philosophy also extends to the use of station restroom facilities. A longstanding policy, intended to curb unlawful and unwanted activity, has been to only allow employees to use Metro restrooms.<ref name="lavigne2" /> One widely publicized example of this was when a pregnant woman was denied access to the bathroom by a station manager at the {{wmata|Shady Grove}} station.<ref name="pregnant">{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Pregnant-Woman-Says-Metro-Worker-Refused-to-Let-Her-Use-Station-Bathroom-384923021.html |title=Pregnant Woman Says Metro Worker Refused to Let Her Use Station Bathroom |work=NBC4 Washington |date=June 29, 2016 |last1=Tuss |first1=Adam |last2=Swalec |first2=Andrea |access-date=February 16, 2018 |archive-date=February 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217141917/https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Pregnant-Woman-Says-Metro-Worker-Refused-to-Let-Her-Use-Station-Bathroom-384923021.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Metro now allows the use of restrooms by passengers who gain a station manager's permission, except during periods of heightened [[Homeland Security Advisory System|terror alerts]].<ref>{{cite press release |title=Metro steps up security as a precaution after foiled London terror plot |publisher=[[WMATA]] |date=August 10, 2006 |url=https://www.wmata.com/about/news/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=3844 |access-date=January 20, 2017 |archive-date=January 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015227/https://www.wmata.com/about/news/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=3844 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="bathroom">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2016/06/30/want-to-use-a-metro-station-bathroom-know-your-rights/ |title=Want to use a Metro station bathroom? Know your rights. |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 30, 2016 |last=Powers |first=Martine |access-date=February 16, 2018 |archive-date=January 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111225403/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2016/06/30/want-to-use-a-metro-station-bathroom-know-your-rights/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On January 22, 2019, the [[Council of the District of Columbia|D.C. Council]] voted 11–2 to override [[Mayor of the District of Columbia|Mayor]] [[Muriel Bowser]]'s veto of the Fare Evasion Decriminalization Act, setting the penalty for fare evasion at a $50 [[Civil penalty|civil fine]], a reduction from the previous criminal penalty of a fine up to $300 and 10&nbsp;days in jail.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pascale |first1=Jordan |title=Council Overrides Mayoral Veto; Fare Evasion Soon A $50 Civil Fine |url=https://wamu.org/story/19/01/22/council-overrides-mayoral-veto-fare-evasion-soon-a-50-civil-fine/ |access-date=June 1, 2019 |agency=[[WAMU]] |date=January 22, 2019 |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110222037/https://wamu.org/story/19/01/22/council-overrides-mayoral-veto-fare-evasion-soon-a-50-civil-fine/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Random bag searches ====
On October 27, 2008, the [[Metro Transit Police Department]] announced plans to immediately begin random searches of backpacks, purses, and other bags. Transit police would search riders at random before boarding a bus or entering a station. It also explained its intent to stop anyone acting suspiciously.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sun |first=Lena H. |title=Metro to Randomly Search Riders' Bags |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/27/AR2008102700767.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=A01 |date=October 28, 2008 |access-date=September 18, 2017 |archive-date=December 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223042516/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/27/AR2008102700767.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Metro claims that "Legal authority to inspect packages brought into the Metro system has been established by the court system on similar types of inspections in mass transit properties, airports, military facilities and courthouses."<ref>{{cite press release |publisher=Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority |date=October 27, 2008 |title=Metro Transit Police to begin bag inspection program |url=https://www.wmata.com/about/news/pressreleasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=2324 |access-date=February 16, 2018 |archive-date=February 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217083034/https://www.wmata.com/about/news/pressreleasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=2324 |url-status=live }}</ref> Metro Transit Police Chief Michael Taborn stated that, if someone were to turn around and simply enter the system through another escalator or elevator, Metro has "a plan to address suspicious behavior".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/10/27/DI2008102702325.html |title=Metro Transit's Top Cop Discusses New Search Policy |date=October 28, 2008 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=January 27, 2009 |first=Michael |last=Taborn |archive-date=January 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106052518/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/10/27/DI2008102702325.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Security expert [[Bruce Schneier]] characterized the plan as "[[security theater]] against a [[Bruce Schneier#movie plot threat|movie plot threat]]" and does not believe random bag searches actually improve security.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/10/30/DI2008103003705.html |title=Bruce Schneier Talks Metro Bag Searches |date=October 31, 2008 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=January 27, 2009 |archive-date=November 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107043710/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/10/30/DI2008103003705.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Metro Riders' Advisory Council recommended to WMATA's board of directors that Metro hold at least one public meeting regarding the search program. {{As of|2008|12}}, Metro had not conducted a single bag search.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/06/AR2008120601866.html |title=Discussion Overdue On Metrorail's Bag-Search Policy |author=Dr. Gridlock |date=December 7, 2008 |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=C02 |access-date=September 18, 2017 |archive-date=March 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328102730/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/06/AR2008120601866.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2010 Metro once again announced that it would implement random bag searches, and conducted the first such searches on December 21, 2010.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Metro-Begins-Random-Bag-Searches-112240639.html |title=Metro Begins Random Bag Searches |date=December 21, 2010 |work=[[WRC-TV]] |access-date=February 5, 2017 |archive-date=February 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205182349/http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Metro-Begins-Random-Bag-Searches-112240639.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The searches consist of swabbing bags and packages for explosive residue, and [[X-ray]]ing or opening any packages which turned up positive. On the first day of searches, at least one false positive for explosives was produced, which Metro officials indicated could occur for a variety of reasons including if a passenger had recently been in contact with firearms or been to a firing range.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tyson |first=Ann Scott |date=December 21, 2010 |title=Metro bag inspections cause minor customer annoyances |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/21/AR2010122105534.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328164448/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/21/AR2010122105534.html |archive-date=March 28, 2018}}</ref> The D.C. Bill of Rights Coalition and the Montgomery County Civil Rights Coalition circulated a petition against random bag searches, taking the position that the practice violates the [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution]] and would not improve security.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local-beat/Groups-Launch-Petition-Against-Metros-Bag-Searches.html |title=Groups Launch Petition Against Metro Bag Searches |date=December 20, 2010 |work=MSNBC |access-date=January 4, 2011 |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110222007/https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/groups-launch-petition-against-metros-bag-searches/1861078/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On January 3, 2011, Metro held a public forum for the searches at a Metro Riders' Advisory Council meeting, at which more than 50 riders spoke out, most of them in opposition to the searches. However at the meeting Metro officials called random bag inspections a "success" and claimed that few riders had complained.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.wtop.com/?nid=598&sid=2220916 |title=Metro riders sound off on bag searches |date=January 4, 2011 |work=WTOP |access-date=January 4, 2011 |archive-date=August 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821050537/http://wtop.com/?nid=598&sid=2220916 |url-status=live }}</ref>

After a prolonged absence, {{as of |2017|02|lc=y}}, bag searches have resumed at random stations throughout the Washington Metro area.{{Citation needed|date=November 2017}}