Los Angeles rail thefts

Multiple stories in recent days of trains being looted, leaving trash and debris all over the tracks.

LA Times: ‘It’s ugly out there’: Rail thefts leave tracks littered with pilfered packages

Thieves are pilfering railroad cars in a crime that harks back to the days of horseback-riding bandits, but is fueled by a host of modern realities, including the rise of e-commerce and Southern California’s role as a hub for the movement of goods.

The images have generated national attention and revealed tension among rail operators, government officials and authorities over what can be done to reduce the thefts.

CNN: Thieves in LA are looting freight trains filled with packages from UPS, FedEx and Amazon

Union Pacific, one of the country's largest railroad companies, says it may avoid operating in Los Angeles County following the spike in thefts, which it blames on lax prosecution of crimes. The containers and trains are locked, but can be broken into.

Union Pacific said last month in a letter to the Los Angeles District Attorney that it saw a 160% year-over-year increase in theft in LA county. The company claims that a December 2020 special directive issued by District Attorney George Gascón that changed how low-level offenses are prosecuted has contributed to the uptick.

Shouldn't theft of railroad property be a Federal not a state crime?

https://www.lvcriminaldefense.com/usc/r ... s-on-land/

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text ... title%20or

That raises a question in my mind -- couldn't the railroad have recourse to the Federally appointed U. S. Attorney for that district instead of relying on the (I assume) locally elected District Attorney, who would have to keep his electoral base in mind? Afaik the industry has relied until now on the fact that that the doors can't be opened on containers in the lower tier of a well car, and one would have to be something approaching an acrobat to get into a container on the upper tier (although ingenuity and agility shouldn't be underrated).

A post on another site showed a photo of the tracks where this has been happening; the track involved is the lead to the container terminal, where switching moves result in cuts of cars standing while reversing direction for pulling and placing. From the photo it appears that the lead track could be isolated by cyclone fencing topped with razor wire; maybe that would work? (That's what Metrolink uses to surround small outlying storage yards where commuter trains spend the night.) As it is, the tracks appear to be in a concrete-walled trench, but obviously the predators get in and out even when encumbered with packages.

UPRR Inside Track 1/16/22

UP Addresses Los Angeles Cargo Thefts; Problem Requires Collective Effort

A spike in cargo thefts from Union Pacific trains in Los Angeles County, California, has intensified actions to address the serious situation.


The thefts involve criminals trespassing on Union Pacific property, climbing aboard trains and breaking into customers’ containers loaded with cargo, packages and merchandise destined to warehouse facilities around the country.

SNIP

Union Pacific underscored concerns in a letter sent to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, on Dec. 20, 2021. It asked for help ensuring there are consequences for those who prevent the railroad from safely moving customer goods.

“Criminals are caught and arrested, turned over to local authorities for booking, arraigned before the local courts, charges are reduced to a misdemeanor or petty offense, and the criminal is released after paying a nominal fine,” said the letter. “These individuals are generally caught and released back onto the streets in less than 24 hours. Even with all the arrests made, the no-cash bail policy and extended timeframe for suspects to appear in court is causing re-victimization to Union Pacific by these same criminals.”

The letter goes on to say criminals are boasting to Union Pacific officers that charges will be pled down to simple trespassing – which bears no serious consequence.

Read More: https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/in ... 220116.htm

There's a solution... UP police are authorized to carry firearms on their property. Might be time to start using that authority and having officers visibly out on the line with rifles...

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just fence it in lol. i don't think a solution to this needs to be violent

Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t someone cut the rails in the area and force the train to derail so they could break in? Been hearing something about that.

I saw a news item about a derailment there but no indication of probable cause. The accompanying photo showed some cars on their sides and others out of line and adjacent tracks fouled.

to me that kinda looked like it had just split a switch

Having a show of force trackside isn't violent until the thugs make it violent...

IIRC, the entirety of the Alameda Corridor is fenced off, but that's not stopping the thugs from getting in and setting handbrakes on cars.

Not certain if any new ground has been broken, but The Journal has further reporting on "The Great Train Robbery".

Fair Use:

Michelle Wilde bought a piece of sand art during a visit to Jerome, Ariz., earlier this month. Rather than carry it home, she had the shopkeeper ship the $145 frame to her.

Instead of arriving at her home in Everett, Wash., the package ended up next to a railroad track in East Los Angeles. The frame was gone. The box remained.

It was among thousands of boxes recently found littered along Union Pacific Corp. in the middle of Los Angeles. Thieves had broken into the train cars and made off with items shipped by Dr. Martens, Harbor Freight Tools and small businesses alike. The scene has set off finger-pointing between the railroad, local officials and police about who is to blame and how to stop a modern twist on one of the country’s oldest crimes

This phenomenon simply seems like one more offshoot of the pervasive lawlessness our society has faced during the COVID era. We've all certainly observed "70 in a 45", verbal abuse of public contact employees, and have learned of (hopefully not observed) the brazen burglaries confronting retail merchants.

One of these days, COVID will end (even if I fear Omicron will not be the last of the variants) and hopefully with it this societal lawlessness.

UP says they have made hundreds possibly thousands of arrests that were never prosecuted?

I don't blame society... I blame social activists and politicians who pushed for the zero bail policies and no prosecution approach California and other big cities are adopting.

Walgreens and CVS have the option to close stores. UPRR and BNSF aren't as lucky short of abandoning the ports.


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eolesen wrote: ↑Mon Jan 24, 2022 6:10 pm UP says they have made hundreds possibly thousands of arrests that were never prosecuted?

I don't blame society... I blame social activists and politicians who pushed for the zero bail policies and no prosecution approach California and other big cities are adopting.

Walgreens and CVS have the option to close stores. UPRR and BNSF aren't as lucky short of abandoning the ports.

The response of activists: UP a few short years ago let go or reassigned 70% or 85% (I forget the number) of the railroad bulls in that section.

Even if that's true, UPRR getting rid of railroad police doesn't explain the lack of criminal prosecutions for the people that they do arrest.

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I grew up in LA, near several of these lines. Patrol these lines, heavily. Also…

1) UP should buy cabooses.

2) Cabooses are for the UP RR police, not T&E crew. Post them mid train at strategic points.

3) Post the property as trespassers are subject to deadly force.

4) improve the locking systems on containers. Containers are easy to get into. Harden them.