Live data from Hacker News

Lawyer: ‘It’s a Free for All’ for Criminals on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

mercurynews.com

1–10 of 262 posts

Re: Lawyer: ‘It’s a Free for All’ for Criminals on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

#4
Does BART have unlimited liability for the actions of others? Probably not.

Should BART have more security at problem stations? Sure.

Most of this sounds like a failure of the local police though, transit security is generally not going to handle reporting assault and theft, as those are the jurisdiction of the municipality where the crime occured.

Re: Lawyer: ‘It’s a Free for All’ for Criminals on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

#6
Yeah, BART police is a joke. I don’t remember ever seeing a BART police officer riding a train with me. I rarely see them in stations. Getting in and out without paying almost seems easier than paying. SF and Oakland officers never stroll through stations, which is so obviously wrong from a public safety standpoint, yet it seems to be policy. Then again I rarely see SF police officers walking the streets as it is.

Yet we just kind of let it happen. Not sure what to do to fix it.

Re: Lawyer: ‘It’s a Free for All’ for Criminals on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

#7
post #4

Does BART have unlimited liability for the actions of others? Probably not. Should BART have more security at problem stations? Sure. Most of this sounds like a failure of the local police though, transit security is generally not going to handle reporting assault and theft, as those are the jurisdiction of the municipality where the crime occured.

AFAIK bart police are actual peace officers: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_Area_Rapid_Transit_Polic... I remember i used to see ads of theirs years ago, prominently displaying their 150K starting salary.

Anecdotally, i agree that riding bart has felt sketchier the past few years. I generally ride from SF to Lake Merritt or 12th St Oakland.

Re: Lawyer: ‘It’s a Free for All’ for Criminals on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

#9
I was especially surprised when that gang of 50 people stormed a Bart and robbed a bunch of passengers and nobody was ever arrested. I don’t know if it’s the Bart police at fault or the Oakland police but it sure seems like law enforcement is weak on the Bart.

Re: Lawyer: ‘It’s a Free for All’ for Criminals on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

#10
post #4

Does BART have unlimited liability for the actions of others? Probably not. Should BART have more security at problem stations? Sure. Most of this sounds like a failure of the local police though, transit security is generally not going to handle reporting assault and theft, as those are the jurisdiction of the municipality where the crime occured.

AFAIK bart police are actual peace officers: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_Area_Rapid_Transit_Polic... I remember i used to see ads of theirs years ago, prominently displaying their 150K starting salary. Anecdotally, i agree that riding bart has felt sketchier the past few years. I generally ride from SF to Lake Merritt or 12th St Oakland.

> prominently displaying their 150K starting salary

I thought that seemed high, but they are still paid quite well.

https://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Bart-Police-Officer-Salarie...

Post reply on HN