Nations said that some Missouri residents tell him “they drive to East St. Louis to park their car in order to take the train over to Busch Stadium for baseball games, because they feel safer doing that.”

Belmar told the council on Sept. 11 that police were working on a fix to the radio problem, but said Metro security officers would need to pass background checks to use the police radio system.

Police from St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Clair County have a task force that meets regularly to discuss transit security, but the effort is not centrally organized, and there are lapses in organization.

For example, while St. Clair County sheriff’s officers were cleared recently to have officers ride the train into Missouri, Belmar said those officers needed to be certified by the state of Missouri before using police powers. He said he did not know if they had started crossing the Mississippi River.

When Councilman Mark Harder, R-7th District, asked who was in charge of public safety on MetroLink, the St. Louis County police captain in charge of MetroLink patrols told him it was a “good question.”