Crime on and around BART dipped overall in 2015, the transit agency says, but further analysis shows the numbers vary from station to station and from city to city.
All crime throughout the 44-station system in 2015 was down 10 percent from the previous year, according to BART data. Officials attribute the reduction to improved allocation of resources and personnel.
But a closer look at the data shows certain stations actually saw an uptick in incidents.
The Pleasant Hill station, for instance, saw a 48 percent increase in property crime, which is the most common category and includes car theft, shoplifting and vandalism. The station also saw double the number of car thefts.
One BART rider catching the train at the Rockridge station in Oakland chose to park about 15 minutes away instead of in or near the BART parking lot.
"I probably won’t be back for a few hours, so I just feel safer that way," said Kevin Liu.
After property crime, the next most common crimes over the past three years are stolen vehicles, followed by assault or battery and then robbery. Nearly 11,000 crimes have been reported in the past three years, BART data show.
Local
Still some riders say they feel safe.
"My biggest problem is leaving stuff on BART (trains)," said rider Tom Noyes. "That’s a crime that’s my own."
Here are the five most crime-riddled BART stations over the past three years and the total number of incidents at the station:
- Oakland Coliseum (780 crimes)
- Fruitvale (530)
- San Leandro (512)
- Pittsburg/Bay Point (500)
- Bay Fair and Hayward (470 tie)
The safest station over the three-year period was SFO, with just 23 crimes reported.
