Courtesy photo
Wave Wire Service
LOS ANGELES — San Francisco Police Chief William “Bill” Scott has been named the leader of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s new public safety department, overseeing the policing of a transit system that has struggled with safety concerns following a spate of high-profile violent crimes.
Scott, who spent 27 years with the Los Angeles Police Department before taking over in San Francisco, will return “to the city where he built his career to lead one of the most significant public safety transitions in L.A. history,” according to a statement from the agency. He will officially assume his role on June 23.
Scott, who resigned from the San Francisco post May 7, was hired by the MTA following a selection process that included input from the agency’s Board of Directors, transit system employees and community stakeholders.
“This moment demands a leader like Chief Scott, who brings vision and integrity to this important role,” MTA Board Chair and county Supervisor Janice Hahn said in a statement. “He understands that real public safety is about more than enforcement, it’s about trust, transparency and working with the community to make every rider feel safe.”
Scott was named chief of police for San Francisco in 2017. MTA officials said he is widely recognized for driving public safety improvements, while advancing policing initiatives recommended by the U.S. Department of Justice. Under his leadership, the San Francisco Police Department reduced use-of-force incidents, prioritized de-escalation training and improved the violent crime clearance rate to reach levels above national averages, according to the MTA.
He promoted the use of license plate reading cameras and drones to address organized retail and property crime. He also oversaw safety and security on San Francisco’s municipal transit system, which saw a drop in crime across the system, falling to 2.3 crimes per 100,000 miles of travel as of March.
“This is an incredible opportunity at this point in my career,” Scott said in a statement. “How many people can say they have built a public safety operation from the very beginning? I’m honored to be back in L.A., but even more honored to have this chance to lead this next chapter for LA Metro.”
“Together, we have an opportunity to create something that reflects the values of this region, supports our frontline teams and earns the trust of the public we serve,” he added.
As the MTA’s chief of police, Scott will focus on creating a strong internal leadership team, building relationships with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles Police Department and Long Beach Police Department, as well as enforcing the agency’s safety policies. He’ll also lead transit security coordination for the World Cup in 2026, Super Bowl in 2027 and 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
MTA CEO Stephanie Wiggins described Scott’s appointment as a “defining moment” for the agency.
“We heard the community’s call for a leader who is calm under pressure, emotionally intelligent and politically astute,” Wiggins said in a statement. “Someone who can balance enforcement with empathy and collaboration.”
The MTA has experienced a series of highly publicized violent crimes. In a bid to address such crimes, officials expanded the agency’s unarmed ambassador program deployed more security officers and installed protective barriers on all of its buses. The agency rolled initiatives to address fare evaders, with taller fare gates at all new rail stations and some existing ones, and piloting weapons detection systems.
But many local officials have called for a more visible police presence on the transit system to deter crime. Policing the system has generally been a job shared by LAPD, Long Beach police and the sheriff’s department, since trains and buses move through their various jurisdictions.
The MTA hopes to have its own in-house police department operational by 2029.
Transit officials said Scott’s experience in guiding the SFPD through complex issues — such as the COVID-19 pandemic, policing following the murder of George Floyd, and calls to reduce crime in the city — make him well suited to lead the new public safety department.
Scott was raised in Birmingham, Alabama, and earned a degree in accounting from the University of Alabama. He graduated from the Senior Management Institute for Police.
