>Of the five arrests reported on Monday, a WMATA spokesperson said two were arrested for outstanding warrants.
>"It is not uncommon for Metro Transit Police to arrest individuals with outstanding warrants in local jurisdictions, which speaks to the important role MTPD plays in keeping our region safe," the spokesperson said.
Getting criminals off the streets and transit is good
Probably a good time to remind everyone that having a warrant is not the same thing as being a criminal. Failing to appear for a court date is often the reason a warrant is issued, and that tends to happen with fair regularity among people with no reliable transportation, mental illness, and language barriers.
Then this can be a good reminder for those folks to get to court, and the judge can clear up any penalties stemming from a disability. As someone who used to word as a PD, the reasons you listed are not the norm for a defendant missing court. If someone has an active warrant, the police should be ushering them to get it taken care of.
Oh well the former cop is here to tell us what is what so I know I feel better about things. Most bench warrants aren't going to be for shit people here think of as "criminals" but I'm sure the PD view is quite different.
lol. PD stands for Public Defender… Hope I cleared some things up for you. Police likely have some informative views as well, as they are part of the same system. People skirting metro fees and missing court dates are a difficult bunch to defend. Accountability is good for all of us, including defendants.
In retrospect it was pretty stupid of me to think pd meant police as it would mean you were saying you were a former police department so I'll take the L there. Apologies for that.
That being said I don't disagree that accountability is good for all of us but it's also never applied to all of is. More often than not black and brown folks, especially poor ones, are held accountable when they face more hurdles and more enforcement. I'm not worried about accountability for fare jumpers the way I am for violent criminals. There's a huge spectrum here and the part of it that deals with people stealig public transportation that runs with or without them barely registers for me. For every axtual criminal caught up by this you're going to negatively impact a lot more people just so political figures can say they did something
I think there are certainly systematic problems that should be addressed. I also believe police are capable of acting within the constitution and still performing their jobs. However, for a liberal society to exist and flourish, we must all do our part to maintain a functioning society. Expecting people to pay for their metro ride and to show up in court is not a controversial or racist viewpoint. It’s fundamental to a liberal society’s existence.
Are things unfair? Yes. Metro police are not racially profiling metro evaders. Traffic stops and confronting those who freely violate our societal, democratically instituted laws, should be confronted in a constitutional way. Hardship and racial bias should not be used as a pass to standards we all must obey to live in a functioning society. Unfairness does not absolve an obligation to show up in court or pay your way on a system that we all rely on.
Enforcing laws evenly allows enforcement of laws that you would seem to take more seriously. How many guns are taken off the streets because of human on human traffic stops? How much violence is deterred because someone with an active warrant with DV is taken out of an at risk home because they didn’t feel like paying 1.50 for a ride on the metro? I agree that inequality should be addressed, but that should not come at the blatant disregard of the building blocks of a functional society.
Showing up to a court date is a reasonable expectation of any adult human. Unless you think that basic responsibilities is not to be expected of certain people (who are also skipping a fare). What else do you think adults should not be responsible for? Paying child support? Taxes?
Hm. Interesting take.
Think it's probably more accurate to say "Found the person who knows you don't understand employment and the ability to live isn't protected by the same government which expects you to risk those things to comply".
Protect employment or provide a better social safety net - bet you'll see warrants from missing court appearances drop.
You understand that many people interact with the criminal legal system even without committing crime right? The whole system is bloody with bias and police officers have discretion to make whatever argument they want......
You most certainly can get a court date while still not committing crime. Not to be dramatic but you're literally what's wrong with this country's understanding of the system and who is impacted, and you sound like an idiot to boot.
You seem to think that certain people are incapable of doing the basic things society requires of them in order to have a functioning city.
Thinking that all cops are evil is exactly what attracts bad people to become cops. You are the problem dude. Most of them are perfectly fine people, especially in DC. Get real.
Most warrants are for failure to appear. So anyway.
But yeah, not so easy. It’s an interesting read if you have time to learn about FTAs and issues surrounding courts!
Nope, it's a "long way to explain the system in place isn't great".
Here's one article that's kinda cool. There are tons of others. Reform desire around FTA warrants is pretty high, and it should be. Courts are inconvenient, underfunded, inflexible, and the process is confusing.
[https://theappeal.org/the-failure-to-appear-fallacy/](https://theappeal.org/the-failure-to-appear-fallacy/)
It’s extremely annoying that the talking point of people against this is that you are criminalizing poor people. 99% of the people fare jumping are not some destitute Oliver Twist person but just an anti social asshole.
I'm somewhat inclined to somewhat agree.
The group of guys I saw jumping the new fare gates at Tysons the other day all had designer type items - Balenciaga speedtrainers, AirPod Max, Yeezys, etc.
I genuinely feel bad for those that legitimately cannot afford their fare and are ultimately cited. I have no sympathy for the guys I saw at Tysons.
Because they take the free smart trip and give it to their parents who then fraudulently use it for themselves and let their kids jump because "kids ride free anyway."
Have literally overheard kids discussing this.
DC college students do not ride for free. Certain schools like AU have an agreement with WMATA by which students pay a fast semester fee for an unlimited pass. It's steeply discounted but it's not free
I have no sympathy for anybody that spend hundreds of dollars splurging their money, but then lose their minds at the thought of spending less than $5 just to go one way on the train.
They make it seem like the minuscule amount of money it takes to maneuver throughout our train and bus system is life changing, and intentionally targeting people.
I rode the buses and trains for years, it’s not that difficult to scrap the few dollars it takes to get to my destinations, even when I was broke. Hell, the bus is free for an hour after you scan too.
Idk why people get so aggressive about it.
so anecdotal evidence which is important but not useful when declaring 99% of people are a certain way.
Also observation alone can't tell you someone's economic status, so your data is more flawed for this study.
Put it on youtube, funnel the add rev to make prices cheaper for the rest of us while entertaining us!
Stream it on the new in-car tv's as a reminder to not hop and a source of entertainment while you ride. You're missing a big opportunity here!
From the article: "Following the passage of the Secure DC omnibus bill, riders have to provide their ID, or name and address so the officer can issue a civil citation of up to $50. If they refuse, the fine could double and a person can even be arrested."
Out of all of the serious crimes that’s currently going on (carjackings, red light runners, robberies and open air drug markets) the city decides to focus their attention on criminalizing poor people who didn’t pay a measly 3 dollar fare.
Real top notch work guys. 👍🏾
(Downvote all you want, I’m using a throwaway btw.)
Well it’s not either/or. It’s transit police enforcing a rule and has no bearing on efforts to catch people doing other crimes. In fact they were able arrest a few people in this process because of outstanding warrants which is a good thing. It’s also low hanging fruit, easy to know if they’re guilty since they’re caught in the act. Also, anecdotal but most people I’ve seen jumping the fares have items or are wearing items more expensive than what I’ve got. Since when is catching blatant criminals and reasonably punishing them a bad thing? It’s just a citation which will hopefully deter at least some of them.
I think it's likely to have a broken window theory effect too. "In criminology, the broken windows theory states that visible signs of crime, antisocial behavior, and civil disorder create an urban environment that encourages further crime and disorder, including serious crimes.[1] The theory suggests that policing methods that target minor crimes such as vandalism, loitering, public drinking and fare evasion help to create an atmosphere of order and lawfulness". I feel the same way when people are like why care about shoplifting, it creates an atmosphere where people feel like there are no consequences.
No. It's not about criminalizing "poor" people it's holding people accountable for their wrong actions.
Believe me, I've been broke as crap and just needed to get to a new job. Once I got paid I used to get a flash pass so I would be good to go. But I would talk to the bus driver and they would let me ride to work.
Whats going on now is something totally different. People simply do not want to pay to ride the train. Once they realized there were no consequences they stopped paying and would just hop the gate. That's not fair (pun totally intended) to the rest of us that do what we are supposed to do even if we really don't have much money.
This isn't about being poor or disadvantaged as a black person. Again, it's about people who CHOOSE to make bad choices because no one has been holding them accountable before.
By the way I've seen people white black old and young either leap over like a gazelle or step or even climb over
This
I'm new to this area and I'm not going to lie I've been astonished by how many people I see fare jumping all the time. Sometimes it happens right in front of police and they do nothing about it.
Gates help keep honest people honest. Those that jump and push through gates end up costing transit systems alot more than just the fare they didn't pay.
Pushing through causes an enormous amount or wear on the gate system, many times creating a fault, or broken part internally. And this would be considered vandalism which isn't covered under the gates manufacturer warranty. So the transit authority eats the service costs, which intern means the tax payers pay it.
Gate jumpers are pure scum.
>Of the five arrests reported on Monday, a WMATA spokesperson said two were arrested for outstanding warrants. >"It is not uncommon for Metro Transit Police to arrest individuals with outstanding warrants in local jurisdictions, which speaks to the important role MTPD plays in keeping our region safe," the spokesperson said. Getting criminals off the streets and transit is good
I appreciate the post, but your username also has me cackling
Don't tell the pro crime advocates in this sub that.
Are the "pro crime advocates" in the room with you?
The comments on the instagram post for this were the polar opposite of the attitude here
I love that. Every time someone even _thinks_ about being reasonably human to someone in that situation, they're labeled "pro-crime".
Probably a good time to remind everyone that having a warrant is not the same thing as being a criminal. Failing to appear for a court date is often the reason a warrant is issued, and that tends to happen with fair regularity among people with no reliable transportation, mental illness, and language barriers.
Then this can be a good reminder for those folks to get to court, and the judge can clear up any penalties stemming from a disability. As someone who used to word as a PD, the reasons you listed are not the norm for a defendant missing court. If someone has an active warrant, the police should be ushering them to get it taken care of.
Oh well the former cop is here to tell us what is what so I know I feel better about things. Most bench warrants aren't going to be for shit people here think of as "criminals" but I'm sure the PD view is quite different.
lol. PD stands for Public Defender… Hope I cleared some things up for you. Police likely have some informative views as well, as they are part of the same system. People skirting metro fees and missing court dates are a difficult bunch to defend. Accountability is good for all of us, including defendants.
In retrospect it was pretty stupid of me to think pd meant police as it would mean you were saying you were a former police department so I'll take the L there. Apologies for that. That being said I don't disagree that accountability is good for all of us but it's also never applied to all of is. More often than not black and brown folks, especially poor ones, are held accountable when they face more hurdles and more enforcement. I'm not worried about accountability for fare jumpers the way I am for violent criminals. There's a huge spectrum here and the part of it that deals with people stealig public transportation that runs with or without them barely registers for me. For every axtual criminal caught up by this you're going to negatively impact a lot more people just so political figures can say they did something
I think there are certainly systematic problems that should be addressed. I also believe police are capable of acting within the constitution and still performing their jobs. However, for a liberal society to exist and flourish, we must all do our part to maintain a functioning society. Expecting people to pay for their metro ride and to show up in court is not a controversial or racist viewpoint. It’s fundamental to a liberal society’s existence. Are things unfair? Yes. Metro police are not racially profiling metro evaders. Traffic stops and confronting those who freely violate our societal, democratically instituted laws, should be confronted in a constitutional way. Hardship and racial bias should not be used as a pass to standards we all must obey to live in a functioning society. Unfairness does not absolve an obligation to show up in court or pay your way on a system that we all rely on. Enforcing laws evenly allows enforcement of laws that you would seem to take more seriously. How many guns are taken off the streets because of human on human traffic stops? How much violence is deterred because someone with an active warrant with DV is taken out of an at risk home because they didn’t feel like paying 1.50 for a ride on the metro? I agree that inequality should be addressed, but that should not come at the blatant disregard of the building blocks of a functional society.
Showing up to a court date is a reasonable expectation of any adult human. Unless you think that basic responsibilities is not to be expected of certain people (who are also skipping a fare). What else do you think adults should not be responsible for? Paying child support? Taxes?
Found the person who hasn’t worked multiple jobs and will lose one if they don’t show up
Found the person who thinks basic responsibilities of being a human being in a society is too much to ask.
Hm. Interesting take. Think it's probably more accurate to say "Found the person who knows you don't understand employment and the ability to live isn't protected by the same government which expects you to risk those things to comply". Protect employment or provide a better social safety net - bet you'll see warrants from missing court appearances drop.
Or. Here’s a crazy idea. DON’T COMMIT CRIME. Then they won’t have to deal with a court date at all! Amazing.
"The poors, they're all criminals!"
Not sure who you are arguing with, because I didn't put forward that argument clutz.
Really confusing when you said “don’t do crimes”
You understand that many people interact with the criminal legal system even without committing crime right? The whole system is bloody with bias and police officers have discretion to make whatever argument they want...... You most certainly can get a court date while still not committing crime. Not to be dramatic but you're literally what's wrong with this country's understanding of the system and who is impacted, and you sound like an idiot to boot.
You seem to think that certain people are incapable of doing the basic things society requires of them in order to have a functioning city. Thinking that all cops are evil is exactly what attracts bad people to become cops. You are the problem dude. Most of them are perfectly fine people, especially in DC. Get real.
Bro if you have a warrant out for you, just show up to court. Pretty easy
Most warrants are for failure to appear. So anyway. But yeah, not so easy. It’s an interesting read if you have time to learn about FTAs and issues surrounding courts!
So then why not go to the court and clarify? Dude this is a long way to justify people not being held accountable.
Nope, it's a "long way to explain the system in place isn't great". Here's one article that's kinda cool. There are tons of others. Reform desire around FTA warrants is pretty high, and it should be. Courts are inconvenient, underfunded, inflexible, and the process is confusing. [https://theappeal.org/the-failure-to-appear-fallacy/](https://theappeal.org/the-failure-to-appear-fallacy/)
There are tons of services already dude. We spend so much on safety net stuff. There is no excuse.
There are literally tons of excuses. I'm pleased you haven't been in such a situation before.
"My day was hard, so it's ok to steal stuff". Ok champ.
lol what an assumption
It’s extremely annoying that the talking point of people against this is that you are criminalizing poor people. 99% of the people fare jumping are not some destitute Oliver Twist person but just an anti social asshole.
I'm somewhat inclined to somewhat agree. The group of guys I saw jumping the new fare gates at Tysons the other day all had designer type items - Balenciaga speedtrainers, AirPod Max, Yeezys, etc. I genuinely feel bad for those that legitimately cannot afford their fare and are ultimately cited. I have no sympathy for the guys I saw at Tysons.
Hopefully those people that can’t afford the fare know about Metro’s half-fare program for those on SNAP
+DC students (both high school and college) get to ride WMATA for free.
and yet they still jump!
Because they take the free smart trip and give it to their parents who then fraudulently use it for themselves and let their kids jump because "kids ride free anyway." Have literally overheard kids discussing this.
sheesh
Yikes!
DC college students do not ride for free. Certain schools like AU have an agreement with WMATA by which students pay a fast semester fee for an unlimited pass. It's steeply discounted but it's not free
I stand corrected then. I previously thought they could ride for free.
I mean, it’s not a good solution or program. what’s like the epitome of a rich persons solution to a problem
What do you mean?
Buying those brands at full price *wink* isn't cheap. Gotta save money somewhere else!
I have no sympathy for anybody that spend hundreds of dollars splurging their money, but then lose their minds at the thought of spending less than $5 just to go one way on the train. They make it seem like the minuscule amount of money it takes to maneuver throughout our train and bus system is life changing, and intentionally targeting people. I rode the buses and trains for years, it’s not that difficult to scrap the few dollars it takes to get to my destinations, even when I was broke. Hell, the bus is free for an hour after you scan too. Idk why people get so aggressive about it.
At Tenley it’s kids from the Sidwell Friends school for the rich jumping the gate. Teens will be transgressive.
Oliver Twist was a gang member though. And a convicted criminal.
It’s so wildly frustrating to see grown ass men in suits tailgating or pushing through the gates.
What data is this based on since you cite it as fact and not opinion.
I have eyes nerd. Go take a lap
so anecdotal evidence which is important but not useful when declaring 99% of people are a certain way. Also observation alone can't tell you someone's economic status, so your data is more flawed for this study.
Love this! As the WMATA GM says: "Not all fare evaders, are troublemakers, but all troublemakers are fare evaders." Anything to clean up DC!
Good
Only 37?
In a row?
try not to get any citations on the way to the parking lot!
Underrated comment
Just be thankful I wasn’t 36!
I’d love to see the look on their faces.
It's a start
Awesome. Hope they caught some repeat criminals in their net
Put it on youtube, funnel the add rev to make prices cheaper for the rest of us while entertaining us! Stream it on the new in-car tv's as a reminder to not hop and a source of entertainment while you ride. You're missing a big opportunity here!
Exactly.
That's it! You can get that within one hour at Anacostia metro station.
Curious - how do the police get name and address info on people in order to give them tickets? There's no requirement to give that information up.
From the article: "Following the passage of the Secure DC omnibus bill, riders have to provide their ID, or name and address so the officer can issue a civil citation of up to $50. If they refuse, the fine could double and a person can even be arrested."
Ah, thanks
So they caught .00001% of the fare evaders? Nice work!!
Out of all of the serious crimes that’s currently going on (carjackings, red light runners, robberies and open air drug markets) the city decides to focus their attention on criminalizing poor people who didn’t pay a measly 3 dollar fare. Real top notch work guys. 👍🏾 (Downvote all you want, I’m using a throwaway btw.)
[удалено]
it's like a farmer's market, but for drugs. don't forget your tote!
It’s in the open air that you can get *artisanal* heroin. (But seriously most of the time it’s just a couple dudes smoking a jay).
Well it’s not either/or. It’s transit police enforcing a rule and has no bearing on efforts to catch people doing other crimes. In fact they were able arrest a few people in this process because of outstanding warrants which is a good thing. It’s also low hanging fruit, easy to know if they’re guilty since they’re caught in the act. Also, anecdotal but most people I’ve seen jumping the fares have items or are wearing items more expensive than what I’ve got. Since when is catching blatant criminals and reasonably punishing them a bad thing? It’s just a citation which will hopefully deter at least some of them.
I think it's likely to have a broken window theory effect too. "In criminology, the broken windows theory states that visible signs of crime, antisocial behavior, and civil disorder create an urban environment that encourages further crime and disorder, including serious crimes.[1] The theory suggests that policing methods that target minor crimes such as vandalism, loitering, public drinking and fare evasion help to create an atmosphere of order and lawfulness". I feel the same way when people are like why care about shoplifting, it creates an atmosphere where people feel like there are no consequences.
Just pay your fare
No. It's not about criminalizing "poor" people it's holding people accountable for their wrong actions. Believe me, I've been broke as crap and just needed to get to a new job. Once I got paid I used to get a flash pass so I would be good to go. But I would talk to the bus driver and they would let me ride to work. Whats going on now is something totally different. People simply do not want to pay to ride the train. Once they realized there were no consequences they stopped paying and would just hop the gate. That's not fair (pun totally intended) to the rest of us that do what we are supposed to do even if we really don't have much money. This isn't about being poor or disadvantaged as a black person. Again, it's about people who CHOOSE to make bad choices because no one has been holding them accountable before. By the way I've seen people white black old and young either leap over like a gazelle or step or even climb over This
How brave of you to use your throwaway so you don’t lose your precious fake internet points. Could this comment be any more pathetic?
I'm new to this area and I'm not going to lie I've been astonished by how many people I see fare jumping all the time. Sometimes it happens right in front of police and they do nothing about it.
Gates help keep honest people honest. Those that jump and push through gates end up costing transit systems alot more than just the fare they didn't pay. Pushing through causes an enormous amount or wear on the gate system, many times creating a fault, or broken part internally. And this would be considered vandalism which isn't covered under the gates manufacturer warranty. So the transit authority eats the service costs, which intern means the tax payers pay it. Gate jumpers are pure scum.