PERSON: William Scott
Employer
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Position
Chief of Police and Head of Emergency Services
Biography
William “Bill” Scott was appointed to serve as LA Metro’s first-ever Chief of Police and Emergency Management on May 07, 2025, becoming the agency’s top public safety executive. With more than three decades of experience in law enforcement and a national reputation for reform-minded leadership, Chief Scott steps into this role as Metro expands its multilayered approach to transit safety across Los Angeles County, including a new, in-house law enforcement agency.
Prior to joining Metro, Chief Scott served as Chief of Police for the City of San Francisco beginning in 2017, following a 27-year career with the Los Angeles Police Department where he rose to the rank of Deputy Chief. His leadership in San Francisco has been widely recognized for driving public safety improvements, while also advancing a nationally watched police reform initiative.
Chief Scott led the San Francisco Police Department through a voluntary reform effort shaped by 272 recommendations from the U.S. Department of Justice, initially launched under the Obama Administration. After the national reform effort was abandoned in 2017, he proactively partnered with the California Department of Justice to ensure the city’s reform work continued. The department submitted its final responses to those recommendations on April 1, 2024, with a framework in place to ensure ongoing accountability and progress.
During his tenure, Chief Scott guided the department through complex challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic, heightened national scrutiny of policing following the murder of George Floyd and ongoing efforts to reduce crime while building trust. Under his leadership, violent crime in San Francisco remained well below levels seen in other major U.S. cities and clearance rates for homicides consistently exceeded national averages.
He also embraced innovation in addressing persistent public safety concerns, launching new strategies to combat car burglaries, organized retail theft and other property crimes. This included the use of modern technologies like automated license plate readers (ALPR) and drones to improve investigations and increase accountability.
As chief of SFPD, he oversees safety and security on San Francisco’s Muni system, and over his tenure, crime on their transit system has decreased precipitously – just 2.3 crimes per 100,000 miles of travel in March 2025. Fare evasion is down 30%, and 72% of customers rate their system good or excellent.
He has also led his team through major global events – like the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings, which brought 21 heads of state together for critical talks about the world economy.
Chief Scott was raised in Birmingham, Ala. And holds a degree in accounting from the University of Alabama. He is also a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police. He and his wife have three children.
>> Los Angeles Metro
Prior to joining Metro, Chief Scott served as Chief of Police for the City of San Francisco beginning in 2017, following a 27-year career with the Los Angeles Police Department where he rose to the rank of Deputy Chief. His leadership in San Francisco has been widely recognized for driving public safety improvements, while also advancing a nationally watched police reform initiative.
Chief Scott led the San Francisco Police Department through a voluntary reform effort shaped by 272 recommendations from the U.S. Department of Justice, initially launched under the Obama Administration. After the national reform effort was abandoned in 2017, he proactively partnered with the California Department of Justice to ensure the city’s reform work continued. The department submitted its final responses to those recommendations on April 1, 2024, with a framework in place to ensure ongoing accountability and progress.
During his tenure, Chief Scott guided the department through complex challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic, heightened national scrutiny of policing following the murder of George Floyd and ongoing efforts to reduce crime while building trust. Under his leadership, violent crime in San Francisco remained well below levels seen in other major U.S. cities and clearance rates for homicides consistently exceeded national averages.
He also embraced innovation in addressing persistent public safety concerns, launching new strategies to combat car burglaries, organized retail theft and other property crimes. This included the use of modern technologies like automated license plate readers (ALPR) and drones to improve investigations and increase accountability.
As chief of SFPD, he oversees safety and security on San Francisco’s Muni system, and over his tenure, crime on their transit system has decreased precipitously – just 2.3 crimes per 100,000 miles of travel in March 2025. Fare evasion is down 30%, and 72% of customers rate their system good or excellent.
He has also led his team through major global events – like the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings, which brought 21 heads of state together for critical talks about the world economy.
Chief Scott was raised in Birmingham, Ala. And holds a degree in accounting from the University of Alabama. He is also a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police. He and his wife have three children.
>> Los Angeles Metro
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