LA Metro Station Employs Classical Music to Repel Homeless, Drug Dealers

A homeless person covers up with a blanket outside the entrance to the 7th Street/Metro Ce
AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes
Paul Bois

A metro station in Los Angeles has employed loud classical music in order to repel the homeless and drug dealers.

The practice has been employed at the Westlake/MacArthur Park B (Red) and D (Purple) Line subway station in order to curtail a drop in ridership largely due to safety concerns, according to the Press-Telegram:

Playing robust classical music, which in February included operas and marches, is one of several tactics LA Metro is deploying to cut crime and reduce loitering by the homeless and drug dealers who use the station’s dark corners for anything and everything but transportation.

“Since the music and the other safety tactics were put in place in mid-February, reported crime has dropped about 20%, while calls for emergency service declined by 75%, said Dave Sotero, LA Metro spokesman, in an emailed response,” it added.

In a statement, Metro said they hoped to create an environment comfortable enough for the passerbys while repelling loiterers.

“The idea is to create an atmosphere that is comfortable for spending short amounts of time transiting through our station, but not conducive to hours-long loitering,” said Metro in a statement.

As Breitbart News recently reported, commuters have begun to abandon the Los Angeles Metro light rails due to the overabundance of crime, drugs, and homelessness.

Commuters have abandoned the Los Angeles Metro light rail system as drug users take over — many of them smoking fentanyl while aboard the train, according to a shocking report Tuesday in the Los Angeles Times.

The Times report portrays a transit system that was once the pride and hope of the city, now in the grip of crime, drugs, and human filth. And while the city’s leaders talk about the “Green New Deal” and moving millions of motorists from their cars to public transportation, the reality of the metro tells a different story.

The Times‘ Rachel Uranga wrote, in “L.A. riders bail on Metro trains amid ‘horror’ of deadly drug overdoses, crime”

LA Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins said that the Westlake/MacArthur Park Station in particular has seen the highest number of drug overdoses, calls to police, thefts, and a stabbing death. She also said that the agency has added more lighting and video surveillance.

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