Last year, L.A. Metro began testing state-of-the-art, non-invasive weapons detection technology at Union Station. Now the L.A. Metro Board is expanding that pilot program by adding weapons detection technology at other stations, starting with the Norwalk C Line Station and the San Pedro Street A Line Station in downtown Los Angeles.

“You can’t bring a weapon into a concert, or a Dodger game — and you shouldn’t be able to bring one onto our trains either,” L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who chairs the Metro board, said Monday at a news conference in Norwalk. “Metro should be safe for everyone—riders, workers, and operators alike.”

The concept is similar to security used by amusement parks, where people are screened as they walk through pillar-style scanners. If a rider is flagged by the sensors, they will be subject to a search of their belongings.

This pilot program follows several other safety efforts adopted by the Metro board, including higher fare gates, expanding the tap-to-exit program, adding barriers to protect bus operators, putting better lighting at stations, “and more visible law enforcement, transit security, and Metro ambassadors,” Hahn said.

Hahn added, “These screening systems are designed to be quick and seamless. It won’t disrupt our riders’ commutes — but it will be a deterrent to anyone considering bringing a weapon onto Metro.”

Hahn was joined at the news conference by Metro Board Vice Chair Fernando Dutra, Metro Deputy CEO Sharon Gookin and Metro Deputy Chief of System Security and Law Enforcement Robert Gummer.