BART police presence increases ahead of fiscal cliff
ANTIOCH - On a busy afternoon at the Embarcadero BART station, people and trains come and go every few minutes. But public transit advocates say that could all change in the near future.
Priscilla Barrera takes the Yellow Line to Antioch twice a week. It's about an hour ride on BART.
"It's not as scary as people make it out to be," she said.
She's witnessed two of what she described as, 'encounters,' but she says overall, she feels safe during her commute.
"Yes, I feel safe. On this line, I do," she said.
That's been the case for her for a while. But for many who ride BART, that isn't the case. BART Police are trying to change that.
"Every single day, I'm putting out more police officers and more unarmed civilian personnel than ever before to be visible out in the system, riding trains, focusing on the core areas of the system and being visible on trains and in stations," said Interim Chief Kevin Franklin.
That has included the addition of up to 18 police officers patrolling trains per shift.
"It's worth trying," Barrera said.
She hasn't noticed the heightened visibility.
"If they have, I haven't really seen them. I think the only one that I saw briefly was when I took BART at like 7 in the morning - there was an officer at the entrance to tag on," Barrera said.
However, Franklin says the added visibility is making a difference. March and April saw the highest monthly arrest totals since the pandemic began, according to BART Police.
"In March, we re-did our deployment plan so that we maximized the presence of police officers and unarmed civilian personnel out in the system," Franklin said.
But like many law enforcement agencies, BART Police is dealing with a staffing shortage that Franklin hopes to fill.
"We do currently have 31 police officer vacancies," Franklin said.
Franklin says they're working with other law enforcement agencies to make BART, the stations, and surrounding neighborhoods safer.
Safety is a major concern among riders. A recent Bay Area Council poll revealed 46% of respondents said they'd witnessed a crime, first-hand, while riding BART.
While Barrera doesn't have hesitation riding BART, she still takes several personal safety precautions.
"I don't work on BART - mostly because even though it's not a scary place to be in, I still don't feel safe bringing out my laptop and having someone run by and snatch it," she said.
Her experience has been positive over the last year, but she understands others may not be in the same boat.
"Other people may not feel safe on different lines," she said. "Again, that's their commute - their way of getting home may be different than mine."
She's glad to see BART Police are trying to do something to change both perception and reality.