Hacker News Reader

Forgive me for being an ignorant foreigner...

I see clips of train robberies in LA like this https://edition.cnn.com/videos/business/2022/01/14/train-the...

And then I have to ask myself how is that possible in modern society? Train robberies seem shocking enough that they HAVE to be indicative of a broader crime wave. Is there something about the US context that I am missing?

View on HN

>Union Pacific laid off an unspecified number of employees across the railroad system. Including members of its railroad-only police force. Despite record profits in the billions in the last quarter of 2021.

>According to the source, the number of patrolling officers has been cut from 50 to 60 agents to eight, which the worker thinks has led to an increase in train robberies.

It's possible because Union Pacific thinks they can get taxpayers to pay for their security, and they can funnel more profits to their shareholders.

https://www.lataco.com/union-pacific-theft-police-laid-off/

Reply on news.ycombinator.com