Newly compiled crime data shows BART officers made 1,730 arrests in 2017, a nearly 40% increase from a total of 1,238 arrests in 2016. The new figures also highlight an increased focus on fare evasion as well as significant declines in auto and bicycle thefts.
“We’re doing all we can to increase the visible presence of our officers on trains and in stations and we think that effort is making a difference,” said BART Police Chief Carlos Rojas. “We are also utilizing new strategies based on data and crime trends that allow us to deploy our officers in the most effective way possible.”
A new focus on fare enforcement
2017 featured various targeted operations at stations across the BART system to discourage fare evasion. Those efforts resulted in 8,223 instances where BPD officers issued citations, warnings, or otherwise contacted suspected fare evaders. That’s an increase of nearly 88% from a total of 4,382 such contacts in 2016. Those efforts are being built on with the implementation of BART’s new proof of payment policy.
BART is currently deploying a team of Community Service Officers to crackdown on fare evasion as well as hardening stations to make it more difficult to enter without paying.
Decrease in auto and bike thefts
Despite a growing trend of auto crimes in many of the communities BART serves, BPD reports a year-over-year decline in systemwide auto thefts. BART had 420 auto thefts in 2017 compared with 480 the previous year. That’s a decrease of about 13%. There are approximately 47,000 parking spaces throughout the BART system.
BART also experienced a decline in bike thefts with 448 reported in 2017. That’s down nearly 18% from the 2016 total of 544. Along with new police enforcement strategies BART has also increased the number of high-security racks and opened new bike stations to give riders more options to safely store their bicycles.
Prohibition orders keeping violent offenders away from BART
BPD issued 315 prohibition orders in 2017 compared with 276 the previous year for an increase of more than 14%. State law allows BART to issue prohibition orders against those who have acted violently, sold narcotics, or defaced BART property.
“Prohibition orders make BART safer because they are a tool we can use to prevent violent or repeat offenders from being on our property,” said Rojas. “Our data shows 94% of those who are issued a prohibition order adhere to it. This shows the system is a safer place with prohibition orders.”
Electronic thefts and violent crime
Despite an extensive public outreach campaign, 2017 brought an increase in electronic thefts on the BART system. There were 417 electronic thefts reported on BART in 2017. That’s up 52% from the 274 reported in 2016. Since some cellphone thefts involve the use of force or fear they are considered robberies, which by rule are classified as violent crimes. That is one of the contributing factors behind the increase in violent crimes reported on BART.
Last year there was a 24% increase in violent crimes on BART with 347 cases reported compared with 279 in 2016. But along with those increases, the number of arrests is also rising.
“Thanks to the high-quality suspect images we are able to get from the multiple surveillance cameras in all of our train cars, we have been able to more quickly identify suspects and share that information with partner law enforcement agencies,” said Rojas. “The word is getting out that BART is not a soft target for these thieves. If you take someone’s cellphone, we have the tools to find you.”
More help on the way
Chief Rojas is continuing to move forward with an aggressive recruiting effort to bolster the ranks of the BART Police Department. In 2017 BPD hired 25 employees with 16 of them being police officers. That’s the highest number of officers hired since 2013. BPD has streamlined its hiring process as well as increased engagement at job fairs and other community events. “The Bay Area is a very competitive environment when it comes to officer recruitment,” said Rojas. “The reforms we’ve implemented to the hiring process are paying off by allowing us to recruit more would-be officers without reducing our standards.”
14 comments
Better late than never I guess. I still wont get near BART. To nasty for my liking.
I remember when BART was new, and it was a nice, air conditioned train full of commuters. Now it’s old and dirty, crime ridden. Not much different from any public transportation, including the NY subway.
I only ride BART if I absolutely have to! But, every day I go to the BARTcrimes.com website and read how many people commit crimes DAILY while travelling on it. I much prefer Uber or Lyft. You won’t be exposed to people with lice crawling all over them, people with extremely poor personal hygiene breathing on you as they stand almost on top of you holding on to the strap. Homeless sleeping on BART, taking up the entire bench, is something to behold. And then there is the stench!
Good a homeless guy just took a big dump where the fire hose is stored by the elevator at Montgomery. So disgusting. Then you have another mid platform doing more disgusting acts and smoking. No BPD anywhere.
Now, I was told that BART has constructed it’s new cars with fewer seats, which means some bozo will be standing right by you with his crotch aligned with your nose. Eeeewwwww! The BART people are doing everything backwards! Their station agents just sit there and sleep! You don’t see BPD anywhere when a fight breaks out in the cars. Lots of thefts of call phones and laptops.
When all the new train cars arrive there will be more seats overall in the BART system. There are a few less per car than now due to increased safety standards and more standee room to serve a growing ridership, but BART has a plan to increase the fleet size from 669 currently to 1,081 and modernize the train control system to run trains more frequently. The net effect will be 49% more seats in the BART system.
Will ride only as necessary. Dirty and full of homeless/crazy people. I was on the train from 121th St. to Pleasant Hill at 10:30 am on Tuesday, March, 27th. A black man came roaring through the second car from the conductor, yelling racial slurs towards white people and being generally threatening. Everyone on the car was terrified. The young woman behind me started crying and saying “leave us alone”
At the next stop, Orinda, i went out of the car and up to the window to inform the conductor of what was going on. His window was closed. He never even opened it. i went inside the first train and knocked on the door. It took him a minute or two but he finally opened the door. I informed him of what was going on in the car behind us. He told me the guy had exited into the Orinda station. I asked him if he alerted the police. He would not respond. In the first car there was trash strung all over, presumably from the threatening passenger. I feel the conductor did nothing to protect his passengers, in fact, hid in his protected compartment. I definitely do not feel safe riding Bart and will do so only when necessary.
BART Standing Operating Procedure for train operators; they do absolutely nothing. Have been in several similar situations right outside their doors in the lead car; they’ll do nothing. A lot of these transients are the same old transient offenders. Lot of good that BART Prohibition Order does; LOL!
Will ride only as necessary. Dirty and full of homeless/crazy people. I was on the train from 121th St. to Pleasant Hill at 10:30 am on Tuesday, March, 27th. A black man came roaring through the second car from the conductor, yelling racial slurs towards white people and being generally threatening. Everyone on the car was terrified. The young woman behind me started crying and saying “leave us alone”
At the next stop, Orinda, i went out of the car and up to the window to inform the conductor of what was going on. His window was closed. He never even opened it. i went inside the first train and knocked on the door. It took him a minute or two but he finally opened the door. I informed him of what was going on in the car behind us. He told me the guy had exited into the Orinda station. I asked him if he alerted the police. He would not respond. In the first car there was trash strung all over, presumably from the threatening passenger. I feel the conductor did nothing to protect his passengers, in fact, hid in his protected compartment. I definitely do not feel safe riding Bart and will do so only when necessary.
Will ride only as necessary. Dirty and full of homeless/crazy people. I was on the train from 12th St. to Pleasant Hill at 10:30 am on Tuesday, March, 27th. A black man came roaring through the second car from the conductor, yelling racial slurs towards white people and being generally threatening. Everyone on the car was terrified. The young woman behind me started crying and saying “leave us alone”
At the next stop, Orinda, i went out of the car and up to the window to inform the conductor of what was going on. His window was closed. He never even opened it. i went inside the first train and knocked on the door. It took him a minute or two but he finally opened the door. I informed him of what was going on in the car behind us. He told me the guy had exited into the Orinda station. I asked him if he alerted the police. He would not respond. In the first car there was trash strung all over, presumably from the threatening passenger. I feel the conductor did nothing to protect his passengers, in fact, hid in his protected compartment. I definitely do not feel safe riding Bart and will do so only when necessary.
I ride Bart daily from Bay Point. A police presence is so needed to deter tailgaters thru the turnstiles and so far no one has asked to see my proof of ticket payment. I see the police arrive at the station and walk down the hallway and then don’t see them again. Just being visible would help; take shifts being visible for 30 min or so; be “all of a sudden” in full view…..not the whole day; but here and there at odd times….especially that 4 am departure weekly.
I want to thank everyone who responded for their comments. Please consider installing the BART Watch app on your phone that will allow you to say something when you see something. Your help is needed to assist the police to be able to respond to the inappropriate behavior that some of you have described above. While we still have much more progress to achieve the crime data suggests that the District initiatives concerning homelessness, cleanliness, fare evasion and crime prevention are beginning to show results.
What does BART plan on doing when 25 juveniles descend on a station, start grabbing whatever they can get their hands on from riders, hitting people including the elderly, etc. Why not shut the station down and trapping all of them in it and then herding the entire rotten bunch to jail? This would also give us a chance of stomping on them.
BART watch app does not work on my Android Samsung Galaxy devices or Acer tablet. LOL!
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