urbanSTL

^Why? If I leave my I-Phone on the dashboard, and my car windows down, should I have any reasonable expectation that it will still be there when I come back? Would I not deserve criticism if it wasn't? Of course f*cking of course.

Blzhrpmd2 wrote:So as a victim, which slow and weak are you, jblues?

Neither.



A) Did I say that crime would be eliminated? No. I said it would be cut in half.

2) In each case, it was someone else's stupidity that put me in that situation.

III) I can guaran-f*cking-tee you that noone is going to be able to steal my backpack, off of my back, without a weapon, in a crowd, at rush hour, and then get away without me, or anyone else, even knowing which direction they went.

Blzhrpmd2 wrote:^ I didn't think so.

Well then, why'd you ask? In any case, I'm glad you understand now.

Blzhrpmd2 wrote:What a shame, however, that a fight-for-your life mentality must be had in key areas around the city. A bigger arsenal for city naysayers.

Is it a shame? I guess. It is what it is. People get their purses and backpacks snatched all the time, wherever people congregate, in every major city.



The only way to reduce the number of incidents of crime like this is to increase the risk to the criminal. Sounds obvious, but people seem to forget that.

The only way to reduce the number of incidents of crime like this is to increase the risk to the criminal

holy sh*t JLBLUES, I agree with you! wow. Allow people with concealed carry permits to carry their weapons. Now, the thug/vagrant will have to think..hmm, I might be shot dead if I mug the wrong guy. If you disagree with this theory, then post a sign on your house proclaiming you own no firearms, we'll see which ones get robbed first.



BTW, I just LOVE how you always blame the victim or society, and not the little piece of trash vagrant committing the crime.

JCity wrote:BTW, I just LOVE how you always blame the victim or society, and not the little piece of trash vagrant committing the crime.

Nah, you are just missing the point.



What does blaming the "little piece of trash" achieve??? He doesn't care what you think. Throw him in jail, there will be two more to take his place. Besides - say he is in juvey for a few years - he'll just come out ten times worse, and have even fewer prospects of earning a legitimate living. Noone ever goes into the prison system and comes out a more productive member of society. So, can we afford to lock up every "little piece of trash" for the rest of his life?



I don't know how we reform the system. But I do know that even the simplest organisms have some sort of survival instinct.

sounds great! hey, until then, I'll just "get used" to getting mugged on Metrolink! and everyone else should too!

honestly: build more prisons but leagalize drugs. we'll have plenty of room then.

I don't park there, but I do ride at Grand all the time. I'm a girl and haven't had anything terribly weird or upsetting happen.



I've mentioned this before in other threads, but here are some details:



* daily commute to and from Skinker station to Grand station

* daily rides on #70, #13, #93 and/or #1

* fairly attractive female, 5"8", 125 lbs., not able to kick anyone's a$$



I will admit that sometimes Grand seems a bit shadier than other stations, but I think part of that is that "harder-edged" citizens ride there and part is that it's just uglier than, say, CWE station (under a rusty bridge, how can it be pretty?). I generally see at least one security officer there, usually both in the morning and at night (morning commute gets me there around 8:30; I ride in the evening anywhere between 5:30 and 9 p.m.).



The only trouble I've ever had is guys hitting on me. Especially old guys. I really just think they want someone nice to talk to, so I often oblige.



That said, take the same basic precautions you'd take in any city area -- pay attention, don't lose yourself in the iPod, don't flash money when getting out your pass, stand within site of the guard or assistance speaker thingy, etc.

krykel wrote:Does anyone park at the Grand station and get on? Thoughts? Do you feel safe, etc?

I use the Grand station all the time, often late at night, and would agree with the above poster that there are rarely any major incidents on the platform, despite its unattractive surroundings. In the last few weeks, the Securitas guards seem to have been slightly more visible than when they first took over from Wackenhut (though I recently spotted one sneaking off to his car around 10.00 pm, leaving the platform unguarded for at least 20 minutes).



Actually parking your car at Grand on a regular basis may be more problematic. As far as I know, the only place where the general public can park near the station is on Scott Avenue (the road that runs under the overpass parallel to the railroad tracks). There are usually cars parked end-to-end all along Scott on both sides of the street during weekdays, though I don't know how many of them belong to commuters as opposed to people who work at the various businesses nearby. It's also quite common to see cars parked there in the evening when there's a ballgame downtown. The street is poorly illuminated - in practice, it's primarily just an access road - and there's no guard keeping an eye on the parked vehicles. Even during daylight hours, I would recommend not parking within easy throwing distance of the overpass, as idiots like to toss bottles and cans over the railings on the upper level.

Hugh Ferriss wrote:In the last few weeks, the Securitas guards seem to have been slightly more visible than when they first took over from Wackenhut (though I recently spotted one sneaking off to his car around 10.00 pm, leaving the platform unguarded for at least 20 minutes).

I hope you reported this.

jlblues wrote:

Hugh Ferriss wrote:In the last few weeks, the Securitas guards seem to have been slightly more visible than when they first took over from Wackenhut (though I recently spotted one sneaking off to his car around 10.00 pm, leaving the platform unguarded for at least 20 minutes).

I hope you reported this.

Yes I did. I suppose it's possible that the guard I saw leaving might have simply come to the end of his shift and his relief hadn't shown up, but late-night security coverage at Grand does seem to be less consistent these days than when Whelan were responsible. The Metro person to whom I reported my observations said she would forward them to the security department and someone should get back to me to let me know whether the security shift arrangements have changed. If so, I'll post an update here.



A visible late-night security presence at the Grand station is essential if MetroLink is to appeal to people attending events at the Fox, Powell Hall or other Grand Center venues.

Channel 4 reported this morning that Metro is beefing up security at the Forest Park station.

Metro Security called back regarding my report of the Grand station being apparently unattended late at night. They said there is supposed to be a guard on duty at both Grand and Forest Park until the end of service at 1.10 am, but the guards are allowed to take one break during their shift at a time of their choosing provided their post is "clear", so it's possible that one of the guards currently assigned to Grand likes to go on his break sometime between 10.00 and 11.00 pm...



I should add that last night there were security people all over the place. Some of those on the platforms may have been just waiting for connections, but there were also two County police officers riding on my train and a "Redshirt" security guy. The latter got off at Forest Park where several other security guards were visible on the platform.

I recently had a flight into Lambert delayed and didn't get on MetroLink until after 10 p.m. I had an uneasiness from the Wellston station all the way to Union Station due to behavior of loud young teens. Could be paranoid because most all the crime in my neighborhood is committed by middle school thugs.

^Would it be too much to ask people to not sit on steps, period?! At least post a sign or something.

Nothing screams both shady and safety hazard when there are people sitting on the stairs blocking the flow of traffic off the platform.

Even at Shrewsbury, with numerous bus bays with often empty benches, theres usually someone blocking the stairway.

TIABstl wrote:^Would it be too much to ask people to not sit on steps, period?! At least post a sign or something.

But sitting somewhere out of the way would not give these people any satisfaction.

An interesting bit of information. Evidently the U City police have been conducting sweeps of the loop at night to push hundreds of youth out of the loop to the City end of the Loop. On the night that the one incident the family was attached near Forest Park Station, these kids who were pushed out of the loop were spilling all over the Forest Park Delmar area. Over 60 police calls were made about vandalism, assaults, and threats. This overwhelmed the 7th District.



Reportedly UCity did not inform the City Police or Metrolink.



This is sort of on par with picking up the "unwanted" and driving them to the next town and saying "don't come back."



I am not saying that increased security wouldn't help, but some sort of intergovernmental coordination might have helped.

Busdad wrote:intergovernmental coordination.

What's that?



What local elected officials heard: "Blabiblah-blah-blah blah-blah-di-blah".

Someone might want to inform the Mayor of the Loop, whose constituency cuts across municipal boundaries and who's generally very good at bringing people of differering viewpoints together.

This has gotten front page attention at the Post.



http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/s ... enDocument



Interesting to see that the St. louis police didn't throw their U City counterparts "under the bus" for herding the punks into their jurisdiction.

ST. LOUIS — Police plan to step up patrols this weekend around two MetroLink stations and part of the Delmar Loop after a series of violent attacks linked to roaming groups of teens and young adults who gather in the Loop.



There have been at least three attacks — including an assault by a group of at least 20 on a family near the Forest Park MetroLink station.



St. Louis Alderman Lyda Krewson, whose 28th Ward includes the Forest Park station, said St. Louis and University City police and Metro security were responding to the attacks.



"I just want to say that this is pretty unusual, which is why everybody is on it," Krewson said. "What we have here are three or four incidents that all happened within a couple of weeks of one another that do appear to have some similarities. They are obviously completely unacceptable."



Capt. Jim Moran, commander of the St. Louis Police Department's Seventh District, said groups of young people appear to be meeting in the University City part of the Delmar Loop, and then walking east to the St. Louis side. By some estimates, the groups have reached about 100 people.