Pierce Transit plans to spend $1.9M on station security. Here’s where the money will go
Pierce Transit stops and bus stations in Puyallup will be monitored by city police officers under a new agreement with the agency.
The City Council unanimously approved an interlocal agreement between the Puyallup Police Department and Pierce Transit during a May 17 council meeting. The agreement means police officers will provide transit policing services within the city.
The Police Department has never entered into an agreement like this before, Police Chief Scott Engle said during the meeting. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department used to provide transit policing services for the city prior to this new agreement.
Rebecca Japhet, Pierce Transit communications manager, wrote in an email that the Sheriff’s Department told the agency last year that they can no longer provide transit policing services “due to their own staffing shortages.”
“This has resulted in Pierce Transit seeking new partnerships for public safety services within our system,” Japhet wrote.
Two police officers will be in charge of executing this agreement — one will work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. while the other will work from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. The officers will perform actions such as security checks as well as handle transit-related calls, Engle said.
The officers will monitor the stations at the South Hill Mall Transit Center and Puyallup Sounder Station. Local transit stops and routes within the city will also be monitored, Engle said.
“This is really a great opportunity for us to be able to provide a higher level of service to the riders and the transit staff,” public information officer Ryan Portmann told The News Tribune.
Portmann said the city will add two new positions to the police department as part of the contract.
“But the officers who are selected for transit duty will more likely than not be veteran officers who would apply like we do for any other specialty position,” he said. “And there’s actually a fair amount of interest internally for those positions.”
The term of the agreement began May 17 and will expire May 31, 2027. Pierce Transit will pay the city $1.9 million as part of the five-year agreement, to cover employment and equipment costs. That leaves the city to pay $6,000 per year to add the two new full-time employees.
If one party chooses to end or renew the agreement, they must let the other know 18 months prior to the termination date, Engle said.
Pierce Transit already has similar transit policing agreements with other cities like Lakewood and Federal Way, Japhet wrote. This new agreement adds Puyallup to the list.
“One of the great benefits of the agreement is that we will have a dedicated law enforcement presence for Pierce Transit-operated services within the city of Puyallup,” Japhet wrote. “When sheriff’s deputies responded to Pierce Transit calls in Puyallup, they were typically coming from outside the city limits.”
This story was originally published May 31, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
