Analysis shows which BART stations have most, least crime

A passenger walks up to the platform last week at the Bay Fair BART Station in San Leandro. Bay Fair had the highest rate of violent crime of any BART station in the first 10 months of 2014. BART police attributed the spike in crime to the actions of the Band Camp gang that committed crimes in the area this summer. less A passenger walks up to the platform last week at the Bay Fair BART Station in San Leandro. Bay Fair had the highest rate of violent crime of any BART station in the first 10 months of 2014. BART police ... more Photo: Michael Short / Special To The Chronicle Photo: Michael Short / Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 19 Caption Close Analysis shows which BART stations have most, least crime 1 / 19 Back to Gallery

Busy Powell Street Station sits at the junction of the Tenderloin and tourist-heavy Union Square and is frequented by vagrants, panhandlers and pickpockets, as well as tourists, shoppers and commuters.

And Powell is the BART station with the most total crime. Yet on a per-passenger basis, riders are more likely to encounter crime at stations in southern Alameda County or eastern Contra Costa.

A Chronicle analysis of BART crime statistics over the past two years found that while crime is spread around the 44 stations in the regional transit system, it’s not always the worst, or best, where you’d suspect. The analysis looked at 10 months of crime statistics, January through October, provided by the BART Police Department at The Chronicle’s request.

Systemwide, the report shows mixed results over the past year. Violent crime rose 5.6 percent from 2013 to 2014 during the 10 months, with assaults causing serious injury up 27 percent and lesser assaults and batteries up 26 percent. Calls for police assistance were up 10 percent, and vehicle thefts increased by 31 percent. But there were no homicides, robberies decreased 32 percent, and felony arrests were down 6 percent.

Officials at BART — which has struggled over the past couple of years with two strikes, an increasing number of breakdowns and a surge in ridership that has led to overcrowded trains — paint the crime statistics as a positive. They say that while ridership was up 7 percent over the past year, the severity of crimes seems to be down, arrests and citations up, and the overall crime rate, particularly for violent crime, is low.

“We drive over 400,000 people a day,” said Jeffrey Jennings, a deputy chief for the transit agency’s police force. “A small city every day. We do a good job of keeping people safe.”

The transit system, which passes through parts of four counties and 26 cities, has had no homicides this year and two last year. Jennings said BART’s crime figures tend to mirror what’s happening in the communities trains pass through — but at far lower rates.

“BART is way safer than most people give it credit for. We do have our fair share, but look at the type of crimes we have,” said Jennings, who joined BART two years ago from the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office. “Most are crimes of opportunity — purse snatches, phone snatches. There are very few armed robberies or strong-arm robberies.”

Powell Station, one of four BART stops beneath Market Street in downtown San Francisco, is not only among the system’s busiest stations, it also has the most crime. Powell ranks high in several categories of crime reports. The station recorded more violent crimes than any other station in the system as well as the most calls to police in both 2013 and 2014.

One of the reasons Powell has higher numbers, Jennings said, is that the BART Police Department has a substation there, providing a steady presence of officers. The agency has also stepped up enforcement in Powell and the other downtown stations since July, when it started a controversial crackdown on people who lie or sit with their legs extended.

“It’s one of the anomalies of law enforcement,” he said. “You have a greater presence, you have more arrests. But over time, hopefully, the numbers go down.”

When the number of passengers passing through each station is taken into account, however, Bay Fair, Hayward and Fruitvale stations in Alameda County and Concord and North Concord/Martinez stations in Contra Costa County top the list of stations where riders were most likely to encounter violent crime.

Bay Fair station, on the southern end of San Leandro, sits next to the Bayfair Center mall and has a transit hub for AC Transit buses. Like Powell, it’s also home to a BART police substation.

Jennings attributed the high crime numbers at Bay Fair, as well as at the other stations in the Hayward, San Leandro area, to Band Camp, a gang that rode BART and committed crimes in the area during the summer months. BART police joined local law enforcement agencies to crack down on the gang.

Appropriately for the tech-savvy Bay Area, BART is increasing its reliance on data to drive enforcement and emphasizing enforcement operations that include undercover officers and stings.

Following a model developed in New York in the 1990s, BART police use statistics to determine where on the 105-mile system to deploy its 20 to 30 officers. Jennings meets weekly with commanders from the five enforcement zones to talk about statistics, trends and where and how to assign officers.

“We use the data to find out what’s going on, to ID the hot spots,” said Officer Ken Dam, the department’s data analyst.

Dam said he looks not only at which crimes are occurring and where but also during what time of day, on which days, and using what techniques. He also identifies parolees and probationers in the area to see if any of them match the types of crimes being committed.

“Then we do directed policing,” he said.

That can include undercover or sting operations or simply assigning more police officers and community service officers to a particular station, Jennings said. For instance, if the department determines that car break-ins are occurring at certain stations at certain times, he will flood those stations with community service officers, who are not sworn officers, to keep an eye out and alert police.

BART police have used sting and undercover operations more extensively — and successfully — this year, Jennings said. Since January the agency has conducted 24 data-driven operations, including undercover actions.

“That’s part of the reason our numbers are up,” he said. “We have more arrests, more citations when we do this kind of enforcement.”

While Powell and Bay Fair rank consistently high in the statistics, other stations also stand out — in good and bad ways.

•Bay Fair, Hayward, Fruitvale, Concord and North Concord/Martinez stations were the top five stations for violent crime per capita in 2014.

•Bay Fair, El Cerrito del Norte, Hayward and Civic Center joined Powell to round out the list of five stations with the most violent crimes in total.

•Civic Center, Coliseum, Bay Fair and Pittsburg/Bay Point followed Powell as the stations with the most calls for police help.

•The worst station for theft in 2014 was Hayward, followed by Coliseum, Fremont, Pittsburg/Bay Point and San Leandro.

Coliseum Station was the undisputed leader in vehicle thefts, well ahead of the other 33 stations with parking lots or garages. But Jennings expects that may change. The Coliseum lots have been surrounded with security fencing, he said, and an officer is stationed full time at the station or inside its lots.

On the other end of the statistical spectrum are the stations that stand out for their lack of crime. Glen Park station had the fewest violent crimes per passenger and also showed near the bottom in total number of police calls and total violent crimes in both 2013 and 2014. San Francisco International Airport Station, which is on heavily policed airport property, is also low on most of the crime lists along with Orinda and South San Francisco stations.

The station with the fewest stolen vehicles so far in 2014 was Lake Merritt, which reported no car thefts. Pleasant Hill, Glen Park, San Bruno and South San Francisco reported two stolen vehicles each. Glen Park, it should be noted, has just 52 spaces, while most have more than 1,000 and some more than 2,000.

Considering the breadth of the system, the number of cities it passes through and the large number of passengers, Jennings said, BART passengers don’t need to ride in fear of becoming a victim of crime, he said, though he advises riders to be aware.

How certain is he? He lets his 15-year-old daughter ride BART as long as she’s accompanied by a friend.

“I am very confident in the safety of BART,” he said.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan

Staying safe

on BART

Download the BART Watch app, which allows you to report an incident, call BART police or send them photos.

Program (510) 464-7000, the BART police emergency line, into your phone. It’s faster than dialing 911 from BART.

Be aware of your surroundings. Put down your phone and pay attention.

Zip your purse and don’t put it on the ground.

Travel in pairs, especially during the holiday season.

Use community service officer escorts to cars during the holiday season at certain stations.

If fearful on a train, move to the first car, nearer the operator.

Remove valuables from view in cars — even change in the ashtray.

Park where there is light.

Don’t hesitate to report anything suspicious.