Violent crime on BART more than doubled over the past five years, according to a report.
The grand jury report by Alameda County noted that violent crimes — homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault — rose 115% between 2014 and 2018. A total of 226 violent crimes happened within the transit system in 2014 compared to 485 in 2018.
Robberies jumped 128% (153 in 2014 compared to 349 in 2018) during that five-year time period, according to the report. Aggravated assaults increased 83% (71 in 2014 compared to 130 in 2018).
BART officials blame the uptick in crime on fare evasion, which the report showed as being significantly higher than expected.
The report indicated that 15% of riders don't pay fares. BART police have said that a number of crimes are carried out by people who are sneaking through the system without paying.
The report recommends that BART "accelerate" the hiring of officers and crack down on fare evaders.
