Los Angeles DA George Gascon offering free shuttle service so staff can get to work safely

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office launched a program this week to shuttle employees between their cars and workplaces in downtown Los Angeles, officials said Thursday, in some of the incidents the public has encountered.

On Monday, the DA’s office launched the Employee Safe Transportation and Escort Program (E-STEP) in an effort to provide free safe transportation for employees assigned to the Civic Center area.

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A news release announcing the program said, “There have been incidents involving aggressive confrontational security incidents initiated by members of the public, while vehicles of our employees assigned in the Civic Center area or walking between the transportation area and the office. ”

The program will be run by the DA’s Bureau of Investigation and will be in effect until permanent transportation services are secured.

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The shuttle service will use centralized pick-up and drop off points at the Hall of Justice in the Civic Center to connect passengers to Union Station and a parking lot in Chinatown.

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Employees who sign up for the service will be transported in a seven-passenger minivan.

Sworn in staff with the Bureau of Investigation will work two shifts for each day of the working week: 6:20 am to 8:20 am and 4 pm to 6 pm

The shuttle will stop at each location every 20 minutes.

The transportation service’s announcement comes as District Attorney George Gascon faces mounting criticism that he has failed to prosecute the crime.

“It is unprecedented in the 173-year history of the LA District Attorney’s Office that employees need to be protected from random violent attacks and to be rescued from their cars,” said John McKinney, a prosecutor in the DA’s office who raced to unseat are in 2024, Gascon told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“While I commend George Gascon for ensuring the safety of DA employees, I fault his policies that have contributed to the need for such extraordinary measures,” he said. “My thoughts are also with the millions of Los Angeles residents who have to travel through Los Angeles County without the same protections.”

The move comes as Los Angeles residents flee public transportation due to an increase in drug use and violence.

The Los Angeles Daily News reported that serious crimes, such as those committed on Los Angeles’ trains and buses, increased 24% from last year to 2021, while other less serious crimes increased 14%.

“We don’t see any businessmen anymore. We don’t see anyone going to Universal. It’s just people who have no other choice [than] system, homeless people and drug users to ride,” an unnamed Metro train operator told the Los Angeles Times.

Transit officials have responded to spikes in crime by pledging $122 million to a program last year to deploy 300 ambassadors for public transportation.

The ambassadors are unarmed and report crimes while assisting some travelers.