Two frightening attacks in and around San Francisco’s BART have reignited long-simmering concerns about the effectiveness of recent measures to prevent public safety and crime on the regional transit system.

BART statistics show crime rates, which have increased over the past decade and skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, are improving this year. But on November 2 A man attacked a 54-year-old woman He slashed his neck, face and mouth from behind as the BART train approached San Francisco’s 24th Street/Mission station. A man with a lengthy criminal record was arrested the next day at Oakland’s Fruitvale station and charged with attempted murder.

And then On Wednesday, a man was apparently stabbed to death outside the Embarcadero BART station in San Francisco. On Market Street. It was unclear where this deadly encounter originated. But later that day, the Bay Area Council, a business-backed public policy advocacy group, and a coalition of Asian-American-Pacific Islander groups demanded that Gov. Gavin Newsom deploy state troopers “across the BART system” to combat widespread violence in the area . on trains and stations.”

“There should be zero tolerance for crime on BART,” said Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of the Bay Area Council.

“We must take strong, decisive and immediate action to ensure that violence and other crimes are not tolerated on BART, especially crimes targeting Asian Americans, women, seniors and other vulnerable communities,” Wunderman said. “We know that many riders stay away from BART largely out of deep concern about the lack of safety and security they feel on trains and in stations. With bold and immediate action, Governor Newsom can help restore public confidence in the BART system and bring riders back.”

Alicia Trost, BART’s chief communications officer, said Wednesday’s stabbing did not occur at BART and San Francisco police gave no indication the victim had any connection to BART, but said the transit agency would welcome the strategic deployment of the California Highway Patrol. Areas around stations.

“The overall crime rate is down 12 percent compared to the same period last year, and violent crimes are down 6 percent,” Trost said. “Violent crimes are very rare on BART, and BART PD’s commitment to holding people accountable for violent behavior is evidenced by the rapid arrests made in both incidents cited in the letter.”

Trost said officer recruitment remains challenging for the entire region. BART has hired 39 officers for the police department so far this year, reducing the number of officers from 29 in January to 18 today.

“Perhaps the most effective thing that can be done to increase the security presence at BART is a commitment by the Bay Area Council to run a marketing campaign to hire more police officers, ambassadors and crisis intervention specialists,” Trost said.

The Bay Area Council said: Last year’s survey found drivers were avoiding BART due to crime and safety concerns and they support more police patrolling trains and stations.

It was clear on Thursday that those concerns remained. Andre Jones, 35, a lifelong Oakland resident, said he has been riding BART “his whole life.” He thinks law enforcement has become “laxer” in the past few years, but the recent arrest of the stabbing suspect is sensational.

Carol Novak, 82, who has lived in Oakland for the past three years after living in New York, said she felt like a “potential target” and would appreciate a greater police presence.

“I come from New York, and in New York there are police officers at the stations and they board the trains periodically,” Novak said. “This doesn’t eliminate all crime, but it gives the person a greater sense of security.”

BART Police Department data from 2013 to 2024 shows an overall increase in crime rates during this period, with significant increases in recent years. Total crime rates have been on a steady upward trend over the last decade, rising sharply in 2023. Data up to September 2024 points to a slight decline, indicating some improvement, but crime levels remain high compared to figures at the beginning of the decade.

Property crimes were the largest contributor to the increase in total crime rates. Starting at 27 incidents per million trips in 2013, property crime rates gradually increased, rising from 29 incidents in 2018 to a peak of 63 incidents in 2023. As of September 2024, property crimes show a slight decline at 52 incidents per million trips. It decreased but is still quite high compared to previous years.

Violent crime rates have also changed, although they are lower in number. Starting with just two crimes per million trips in 2013, violent crimes remained low throughout 2017, but then rose sharply to 11 reports in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, which decimated ridership. Since then there has been a slight decrease in violent crime, with seven reports per million trips seen by September 2024. However, this level is still higher than ten years ago.

Dakota Robinson, a 30-year-old San Francisco doctoral student who has been using BART for six years, said she generally feels safe using BART and believes the recent violence is not indicative of a deeper problem with the public transportation system.

“I don’t think adding additional policing measures will ever be the answer to public safety,” Robinson said. “I don’t feel safer when there are more police, and I think that’s true for a lot of people.”

But Kenny Lindsey, a 57-year-old Oakland resident who has been riding BART for the past 10 years, said he feels the public safety issues reflect a broader social problem.

“When I was a kid growing up, everyone looked at each other,” Lindsey said. “Now people have their heads down, they’re on their phones and they don’t want to get involved. There is safety in numbers.”

Bay Area News Group reporter Chase Hunter contributed to this report.

First Publication Date: November 15, 2024 12:07 PST