AAPI Coalition and Bay Area Council Requests Gov. Newsom Deploy the CHP on BART to Improve Safety
The Bay Area Council and a coalition of over 100 Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) groups and individual leaders, plus additional business groups, elected officials, and other community stakeholders, today (Nov. 13) formally requested Gov. Newsom deploy the CHP across the BART system to address pervasive violence on trains and in stations. The request comes in the wake of a recent vicious slashing attack that nearly killed an Asian American rider. It followed another attack in July when an Asian American woman was pushed into a moving BART train and killed, and a deadly attack today near a BART station in San Francisco that further amplified the urgent need for additional law enforcement and other resources.
Read the letter to Gov. Newsom>>
“We need to take strong, decisive and immediate action that violent and other crime will not be tolerated on BART, particularly crime targeting Asian Americans, women, seniors and other vulnerable communities,” said Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of the Bay Area Council. “There must be zero tolerance for crime on BART. We know large numbers of riders are staying away from BART largely because of deep concerns about the lack of safety and security they feel on trains and in stations. With bold and immediate action, Gov. Newsom can help restore public confidence in the BART system and help bring back riders.”
“As AAPI leaders and advocates for community safety, we stand with the Bay Area Council in urging Governor Newsom to take immediate action to protect all BART riders, especially the AAPI community, seniors, and other vulnerable groups disproportionately targeted by violence over the past two years,” said Mark Young, Co-Founder, Stand With Asians. “Asians make up 25% of BART riders, making it a vital lifeline that must be safeguarded. Deploying more safety patrols is a critical short-term step to restore safety and trust while working toward lasting solutions.”
Polling last year by the Bay Area Council overwhelmingly found riders were staying away from BART over concerns about crime and safety and that they resoundingly support having more police patrolling trains and stations. These attitudes were even more pronounced among the Asian American Pacific Islander community.
The Council since early 2022 has been vigorously advocating for BART to increase police presence across the system and accelerate the installation of more secure fare gates. BART responded by making some staffing shifts of police and accelerating new fare gates, but these recent attacks show clearly that more needs to be done and faster. By some estimates, BART is only deploying a fraction of its overall uniformed officers on the system. Recent media reporting also found that rate of aggravated assault is currently three times the per-pandemic rate, and robberies are nearly twice the pre-pandemic rate.
