But today - and this is what's so cool about my job - I learned something new. I got to find out about Transit Police.
Now, Transit Police may not seem like it's a very interesting topic on its face. In other cities around the country, covering the "Transit Authority" is probably fairly routine.
Still, in our area, where there is no subway and only a fledgling light rail system, this is new.
What I learned is that in Pierce County, transit policing is an emerging field.
Today, we were doing a story on the spike of auto thefts at Pierce Transit's park and ride in Lakewood. (The number of car thefts is trending to more than double the number of last year). While trying to figure what Pierce Transit can do about the problem, I met Chief of Public Safety Rod Baker.
Baker's also been around the block. Only, his is a city block with lots of crime on it. Before taking his job at Pierce Transit, he'd worked in the military and then law enforcement for the past 17 years.
What Baker told me was, he has a lot of criminal activity to stop. Besides car thefts and vehicle prowls, Pierce Transit is constantly trying to keep offensive bus riders in check.
Each year, Baker's organization deals with hundreds of complaints about "unlawful bus conduct." That's conduct which ranges from offensive language to sexual assault while on a bus or at a bus stop.
Since 2001, Pierce Transit's has had the ability to exclude passengers from service who have committed unlawful bus conduct. The passengers can be kicked to the curb - prevented from boarding - for anywhere from 90 days to 1 year.
Wow. I've never heard of this.
In fact, since 2001, Pierce Transit says it has given more than 1500 people their walking papers.
Baker says, "this not punitive," but rather the exclusions are "modify behavior." He brags that of those passengers excluded from service, there is only a 1 percent recidivism rate.
Still, Baker says things could be improved.
Currently, Baker pays police officers from local towns to patrol bus stops and respond to allegations of unlawful conduct. He doesn't have his own officers. Baker believes full-time, dedicated transit officers are sorely needed.
And he's going to get them.
Baker says sometime between the end of next year and the beginning of 2009, Pierce Transit will get 8 full-time police officers (9 if you count the police dog). The new unit will consist of Sheriff's Deputies who have been dedicated strictly to the transit system. They will answer to Baker.
The new police unit is expected to cost about $1.5 million a year to operate.
With crowded highways and crowded jails, the unit seems to make sense, because obviously neither mass transit nor illegal activity is going anywhere soon.
So, a new world of crime fighting is sprouting in Pierce County. And comes with it, a new area of crime reporting.