BART PD sees overall crime drop with improved transit safety

According to the Bay Area Rapid Transit Police Department (BART PD), numbers through the end of August 2024 show that crime on the public transit system is down 15 percent compared to numbers from the same time frame in 2023.  

The trend includes a 10 percent drop in violent crime. The decline in the crime rate comes as BART has been experiencing an increase in ridership. All of BART’s top 10 post-pandemic ridership days were in September, driven by special events including the Dreamforce conference in San Francisco and the final Oakland A’s homestand.  

“The drop in criminal activity on BART is happening as we have been going all out to implement our Safe and Clean Plan,” said BART General Manager Bob Powers. “Our riders have been loud and clear that they want us to step our game up when it comes to their safety and the cleanliness of our system. We have more work to do on behalf of our riders, but these numbers indicate our commitment to maximizing our visible safety presence is paying off.” 

“Since I became BART Police Chief one year ago, it has been my top priority to maximize the number of officers walking trains and patrolling our stations,” said BART Police Chief Kevin Franklin. “Our officers are more visible than ever. Their efforts are containing relatively small concerns before they grow into big problems that harm service.” 

Additional safety highlights from the latest numbers: 

• Only 12 electronic thefts and robberies were reported across the entire system in August. That’s the lowest total for any month since 2021 when ridership was much lower than today.
• BART PD reported 13,016 total enforcement contacts through August, up from 7,791 for the same period in 2023. 
   

BART PD’s response time for Priority 1 emergencies averaged four minutes and 25 seconds in August, among the fastest for any law enforcement agency in the Bay Area. 

BART’s Safe and Clean Plan is a commitment to riders to maximize resources to boost their safety and provide clean service. BART’s stepped up safety efforts include sworn officers, non-sworn crisis intervention specialists and transit ambassadors, as well as the implementation of next generation fare gates, which have now been installed successfully at seven stations. All 50 of BART’s stations will have next generation fare gates by the end of 2025. 

Read the full chief’s report with all the latest safety data on BART’s website.