Transit police cite declines in crimes against persons and increased weapons seizures on regional system

The commission heard a year‑end briefing from the transit police that combined encouraging downward trends for some serious crimes with increased enforcement activity for weapons and narcotics.

Brad Kelling, commander of the Bureau of Transit Police, said crime against persons in some jurisdictions fell from 30 incidents in 2023 to 19 in 2025, and that crimes against property and other categories also showed declines in some areas. At the same time, Kelling said the department removed 129 weapons over the year — a roughly 46% increase he described as the result of proactive enforcement.

Kelling credited adjusted patrol tactics, overlapping platoons and targeted enforcement with the results and said secure‑platform work at gated stations is contributing to reduced incidents at those locations. He told commissioners the department broke arrest and weapons‑seizure records this year in some enforcement categories and said a station‑by‑station breakdown of incident data can be provided at the next meeting.

Commissioners asked how many officers are assigned to the Metrolink task force. Kelling said St. Louis County has 24 officers and six supervisors assigned to that task force; he said the county previously had roughly 35–40 officers and that staffing declined due to nationwide shortages, supplemented at times by a mobile reserve precinct of 24 officers.

Kelling described enforcement as systemwide across the county (airport through city limits) and said most weapons seizures and enforcement actions occurred across multiple platforms and bus stations rather than at a single station. He agreed to provide location‑level data requested by the commission.