Bill Scott, who resigned Wednesday as chief of the San Francisco Police Department, has been hired to head L.A. Metro’s new Public Safety Department, according to the agency.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Agency, which manages the county’s public transit network, approved the creation of its own police force last year. The agency is just beginning a multi-year process to launch the department and wind down contracts with the Los Angeles Police Department, Long Beach Police Department, and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
“We’re very excited to congratulate and welcome Chief Bill Scott back to Los Angeles,” Los Angeles County Supervisor and Metro Board Chair Janice Hahn said Wednesday afternoon. Scott, who spent 27 years at the LAPD before moving to San Francisco, will start the job June 23.
Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins said the agency was seeking a chief who could start a new force, keep people safe, and maintain a healthy relationship with the community.
“We were basically looking for a unicorn. And then I met Chief Scott,” Wiggins said. “Chief Scott understands the power of institutional culture; more importantly, how to shift it, how to build it, and how to make it best.”
Appearing at the agency’s press conference Wednesday in Los Angeles, Scott described his new role as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“This isn’t just about designing uniforms or writing policy; this is about creating something truly meaningful. It’s about building a department that reflects the values of Los Angeles: community, safety, and progress,” he said. “When I first learned about Metro’s vision to create this multi-layered safety model based on accountability and built around people, I saw something that felt ambitious and necessary. I knew that I wanted to be a part of it.”
A 2023 feasibility study estimated that the agency, dubbed the Transit Community Public Safety Department, will have a budget of nearly $200 million, 386 sworn officers, 34 transit officers, and 673 ambassadors, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Scott said he expects to hire nearly 700 officers, but for the agency to work, other crucial pieces, such as community ambassadors, will have to come together in an ecosystem.
“Every single person in the system will matter,” he said.
The force will be created in three phases over five years. Meanwhile, agencies that contract with Metro will remain in place. When fully staffed, the department will police a system that served more than 300 million riders in 2024.
Scott will be tasked with enhancing safety across the transit system, which has been plagued with violent incidents in recent years, including last month’s sexual assault of a woman on a Metro bus. The agency has installed protective barriers for buses and put in new technology to detect guns and knives.
When asked what he would bring from his experience in San Francisco, Scott said that while there are always difficulties in making major transit systems safe, a big part of the challenge is knowing when to use police and when to turn to ambassadors or other methods of community outreach.
“Sometimes enforcement is the answer, sometimes it’s not, and I think any effective police department or public safety department has to balance both,” he said. “It has to be all about people. And that’s what we’ve done there, and that’s what I hope to do here.”
Social justice advocates are opposed to the new police force and have been calling for more funding for social services rather than cops.
Though Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has said she doesn’t expect the new department to be fully online in time for the 2028 Olympics, Metro is expected to be key to the city’s goal of a successful Summer Games. Bass has said public transportation will be the only way to access Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and Crypto.com Arena, among other venues.
During Wednesday’s press conference, Scott did not answer a key question on everyone’s mind: Which baseball team will he be rooting for?
Hahn seemed to answer for him: “We know you’re a Dodgers fan.”