The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority will be implementing a new tiered system to ban people who commit violent or sexual offenses on its trains and buses starting on June 2.
Under current Metro policy, the Metro Transit Police Department can ban such offenders for up to 24 hours for violating the transit system’s rules of conduct. The new policy is meant to lay the groundwork for longer bans.
A first offense will lead to a 45-day ban, a second offense to a 90-day ban and a third offense to a year-long ban, Metro said.
The policy targets “a person who commits a sex or sex-related crime,” which includes indecent exposure and lewd conduct or any assault on a Metro employee, contractor, or customer, Metro said.
In 2024, there were 76 sex crimes throughout the Metro system, with 61 committed by repeat offenders. Of those, nine had committed three or more sexual offenses, and one had committed six. Metro also noted in a policy document that these perpetrators and others could have committed such acts in prior years as well.
Metro employees, including bus drivers and station managers, were also subject to a bevy of abuse in 2024. There were 227 assaults on employees and four people committed multiple assaults on Metro workers in 2024.
People who are banned longer than 24 hours will be able to appeal, with an appeals officer making a binding, written decision within 15 days.
Anyone who refuses to leave a Metro facility or vehicle upon being banned, and anyone who tries to return to a facility or ride a Metro bus or train in contravention of a ban, will be arrested for criminal trespass, Metro said.
