MTA's Security Holes Are Spotted

The out-of-date cameras -- many of which do not pan, tilt or zoom -- are among several weak points in a system that was designed when fare-dodgers were a greater worry than terrorists, MTA and law enforcement officials said this week.

"Our system

Other security holes include the lack of ticket-takers or turnstiles at the stations, and a public address system that is difficult to hear and understand, according to Catoe and others. The agency has no cameras on the trains or its own bomb-sniffing dogs, although it is in the process of getting both. Newly installed alarms meant to keep people from wandering or sneaking into subway tunnels do not ring in the stations -- instead, they silently alert officials at the MTA command center.

MTA officials say the July 7 London bombings have brought new urgency to upgrading security procedures in the county. Catoe, who oversees daily operations for the MTA, and the agency's top security administrators plan to present a report listing needed improvements to the MTA board in a closed-session meeting Thursday. They will ask for intruder alarms that ring on-site, more and better cameras, more sheriff's deputies to patrol Union Station in downtown Los Angeles and protection for the transportation authority's high-rise headquarters.

But Catoe, who names upgrading the cameras as his top priority, said the efforts to beef up security are stymied by a lack of funds.

Since the federal Department of Homeland Security was established in 2002, the MTA has received $5.4 million for antiterrorism efforts on the nation's third-largest public transit network, Catoe said.

So far, about $1 million of the grant money has been spent -- mostly for explosion-resistant trash cans, antiterrorism exercises, emergency response vehicles and the training of two bomb-sniffing dogs, who will be ready to take up their posts in about two months, said MTA spokesman Rick Jager. The rest has been earmarked for such items as upgrades to the gas-detection system in the subway and cameras on the trains, according to the report.