The next time you’re on an empty Metro train and a man or woman walks in with a red beret and white shirt, know that someone is on your side. The Guardian Angels — clad in their signature headgear — have increased their presence on the D.C. Metro in recent weeks, and we commend them for their service.
After the 70-person brawl in the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station early this August, the group of specially trained volunteers announced they were stepping up their patrols of the Green Line to three nights a week. Last Friday, the Angels made a citizens’ arrest of three men involved in a brawl on a Green Line train.
Founded in 1979 in New York City, the Guardian Angels is a volunteer corps that patrols the streets and transit systems of over 100 cities worldwide. The red berets go where cops often cannot — generally because of sheer numbers or budgetary restrictions. They have been successful, rarely receive bad press, and are publicly supported by major metropolitan city leaders.
The Angels are a positive presence in communities that need it. Famous for breaking up fights and subduing assailants in a vigilante effort to keep the most vulnerable safe, they also provide other volunteer services in their communities.
Though in their inception they were controversial — officials often point out the dangers of citizens intervening in crime — the respect and presence the group has achieved over time is nothing to scoff at, and D.C. should be proud to have them. Some have argued that police could do better, and perhaps the city does need a larger and better-funded police force. But the success of the volunteer corps cannot be denied.
In an ideal world, of course, we would not need the Angels. But within the limits of reality, we ask you to smile, say hi and maybe a thank-you the next time you spot the scarlet berets in a Metro crowd.
