- Los Angeles Says “Its Safety Ambassadors Have Saved Dozens Of Lives.” For the Long Beach Post News, Jason Ruiz reports that the Los Angeles County Metro’s team of unarmed Transit Ambassadors have “saved 72 lives with 52 of those being attributed to the administration of Narcan to people who have overdosed on opioids [and] twenty other people saved through CPR or suicide prevention.” Transit ambassadors also help riders navigate the public train and bus systems, and a recent survey revealed that riders would “like to see more ambassadors on the agency’s trains and buses.” Indeed, “a majority of riders agreed that they felt safer when they saw an ambassador.” Related: The Metro Board of Directors voted last week to “make its ambassador pilot program permanent… [because the Ambassadors] have improved public safety and helped increase ridership on its transit system.”
- “To Combat Fears Of Downtown, Indianapolis Puts Safety Ambassadors On The Streets.” The Washington Post’s Danielle Paquette profiles a day in the life of Scott Person, who “patrols [downtown Indianapolis] from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every weekday in a red jacket emblazoned with the words ‘Safety Ambassador.’ He carries no gun [and] envisions himself more as an agent of deterrence, betting that most people won’t break the law around someone dressed like a security guard.” Over the course of the day, Mr. Person helps a man with schizophrenia who hasn’t eaten in four days to get a meal; mediates potential tension between workers entering a building and a person sleeping on the sidewalk in front of it; and “gives directions, answers questions and listens to concerns.” Near the end of the day, a man taps him on the back and says: “Just wanted to say thank you for what you do … it makes a difference.”
- Oakland’s “Community Ambassadors Help Keep Districts Cleaner And Safer.” In an effort to understand the impact of Oakland’s unarmed security ambassador team, Oaklandside’s Roselyn Romero interviewed over a dozen business owners in the region and found that “most said community ambassadors help keep their districts cleaner and safer [and] the mere presence of community ambassadors increases the sense of safety in their neighborhoods. Here are three snippets from the interviews:
- “Hee Rosenthal, owner of The Bento House on Washington Street in Old Oakland, said ambassadors add to the appearance of increased foot traffic, which helps deter crime because more people on the street often means more bystanders who can bear witness to and report crimes when they occur…”
- “Des To, co-owner of Alice Street Bakery Café in Chinatown, said ambassadors are making a ‘big contribution’ to the neighborhood. Over the past few months, she hasn’t witnessed any robberies near or at her business, which she said were more common in 2020 and 2021…”
- “Silvia Hernandez-McCollow, who co-owns NIDO’s Backyard and Odin Mezcalería in the Jack London District, said community ambassadors have often stepped in when the Oakland Police Department and city officials couldn’t…”