LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) is strengthening its security team starting July 1.
RTC is transitioning to the California-based security company Inter-Con, which will help expand its security officer team from 250 to 300 officers.
"All 300 officers in the field will be armed, which is different from the previous security company, which was half armed and half not, so this company will be fully armed," said Tom Atteberry, RTC Director of Security and Safety Operations.
Atteberry said officers will be tasked with monitoring bus stations, responding to security incidents, and will also be riding buses and going from one route to another.
He said the additional manpower will help RTC respond to incidents sooner.
"Security is critical to the RTC, especially in the transit world, you know, we see across the country, this is a nationwide incident where there's been assaults on drivers or on passengers, so it's very very important to us to have full coverage on safety and security," Atteberry said.
Last month, the agency announced they are teaming up with ZeroEyes to provide AI-based gun detection and intelligent situational awareness software at valley transit centers.
Local News
RTC of Southern Nevada implementing new AI-based gun detection software
According to the agency, as of January 2024, they have been working on a camera improvement project and have been installing cameras on all fixed-route buses. That allows contractors, RTC staff, and local law enforcement to access live camera feeds.
RTC has also launched a panic button pilot project.
The button fits in a bus operator's pocket, which allows for quicker response times if an incident happens. The agency says those buttons are being rolled out this year.
According to Atteberry, the number of assaults on drivers has gone down.
So far this year, he said, there's been 23 assaults on drivers and nine of those were spitting incidents. Atteberry adds that the previous fiscal year there were 35 assaults on drivers.
When it comes to passenger-on-passenger assaults, he said there were 166 incidents the previous fiscal year and so far 87 this year.
He said the new security will give people peace of mind.
"We want our drivers and passengers to be safe as possible," Atteberry said.
The officers will have identifiable uniforms as well as marked vehicles.
He said that officers will be licensed to carry and will have to go through continuous firearms training.
"There will be no skipping range day, they will all be qualified with their weapons, and they will handle their weapons safely and appropriately. The firearm is the last thing that they are going to go to," said Atteberry. "They have to be armed just in case there's a critical incident."
If an officer uses his/her weapon, they will be placed on administrative leave and local law enforcement agencies will conduct an investigation.
You can learn more about RTC safety on their website.
