Two scary assaults in and round BART in San Francisco have rekindled long-simmering issues about public security on the regional transit system and the effectiveness of latest measures it has taken to crack down on crime.
BART statistics point out that crime charges that rose during the last decade and spiked through the COVID-19 pandemic have been bettering this 12 months. However on Nov. 2, a person attacked a 54-year-old lady from behind, slashing her neck, face and mouth as their BART practice approached San Francisco’s twenty fourth Avenue/Mission station. A person with a prolonged legal document was arrested the subsequent day at Oakland’s Fruitvale station and charged with tried homicide.
And on Wednesday, a person died of an obvious stabbing outdoors San Francisco’s Embarcadero BART station on Market Avenue. It was unclear the place that lethal encounter originated. However later that day, the Bay Space Council, a business-sponsored, public-policy advocacy group, and a coalition of Asian American-Pacific Islander teams demanded that Gov. Gavin Newsom deploy state troopers “throughout the BART system to handle pervasive violence on trains and in stations.”
“There have to be zero tolerance for crime on BART,” mentioned Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of the Bay Space Council.
“We have to take sturdy, decisive and speedy motion that violent and different crime won’t be tolerated on BART, significantly crime concentrating on Asian People, girls, seniors and different weak communities,” Wunderman mentioned. “We all know giant numbers of riders are staying away from BART largely due to deep issues in regards to the lack of security and safety they really feel on trains and in stations. With daring and speedy motion, Governor Newsom will help restore public confidence within the BART system and assist convey again riders.”
Alicia Trost, BART’s chief communications officer, mentioned Wednesday’s stabbing didn’t happen at BART and that San Francisco police have given no indication that the sufferer had any connection to BART, however the transit company would welcome the strategic deployment of the California Freeway Patrol within the areas round stations.
“General crime fee is down 12% from the identical time final 12 months, and violent crime is down 6%,” Trost mentioned. “Violent crime at BART may be very uncommon, and BART PD’s dedication to holding folks accountable for violent conduct is demonstrated by the swift arrests that had been made in each incidents cited within the letter.”
Recruiting officers stays difficult for your complete area, Trost mentioned. BART has employed 39 officers for its police division up to now this 12 months, lowering the officer emptiness from 29 in January to 18 in the present day.
“Maybe probably the most impactful factor that may be carried out to extend security presence at BART is the Bay Space Council’s dedication to run a advertising marketing campaign to recruit extra cops, ambassadors, and disaster intervention specialists,” Trost mentioned.
The Bay Space Council mentioned polling it performed final 12 months discovered riders keep away from BART over crime and security issues and that they assist having extra police patrolling trains and stations.
On Thursday, it was clear these issues stay. Andre Jones, 35, a lifelong Oakland resident, mentioned he’s ridden BART “all my life.” He feels that legislation enforcement has turn out to be “extra ‘lax” up to now few years however that the latest arrest of the stabbing suspect was sensationalized.
Carol Novak, 82, who has lived in Oakland for the previous three years after dwelling in New York Metropolis, mentioned she seems like a “potential goal” and would admire a bigger police presence.
“I come from New York, and in New York, there are cops within the stations and periodically driving the trains,” Novak mentioned. “That doesn’t eradicate the entire crime, nevertheless it does give one a sense of larger confidence.”
BART Police Division information from 2013 to 2024 present an total improve in crime charges over that interval, with important spikes lately. Whole crime charges present a gradual upward pattern over the last decade, rising sharply in 2023. The info via September 2024 signifies a slight drop, suggesting some enchancment, although crime ranges stay elevated in comparison with early-decade figures.
Property crime has been the most important contributor to the rise in complete crime charges. Starting at 27 incidents per million rides in 2013, property crime charges step by step grew, spiking considerably from 29 incidents in 2018 to a peak of 63 incidents in 2023. As of September 2024, property crime stands at 52 incidents per million rides, marking a slight decline however nonetheless significantly greater than in earlier years.
Violent crime charges, although decrease in quantity, have additionally shifted. Beginning at simply two such crimes per million rides in 2013, violent crime remained low via 2017 however then rose sharply, reaching 11 experiences in 2020, through the COVID-19 pandemic, which diminished ridership. Since then, violent crime has decreased barely, with seven experiences per million rides via September 2024. Nonetheless, that degree remains to be greater than a decade in the past.
Dakota Robinson, a 30-year-old San Francisco PhD scholar who’s ridden BART for six years, mentioned she felt typically secure utilizing BART and believed the latest violent incidents weren’t indicative of a deeper drawback with the transit system.
“I don’t suppose including further policing is ever going to be the answer to public security,” Robinson mentioned. “I don’t really feel safer when there are extra police, and I believe that’s true for lots of people.”
However Oakland resident Kenny Lindsey, 57, who’s ridden BART for the previous 10 years, mentioned he feels the general public issues of safety replicate a wider societal drawback.
“After I was rising up as a baby, everyone seemed out for one another,” Lindsey mentioned. “Now, folks have their heads down, they’re on their telephones, and so they don’t wish to get entangled. There’s security in numbers.”
Bay Space Information Group reporter Chase Hunter contributed to this report.
