Crime stats show where surge in BART robberies is taking place - SFGate

Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle

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A train approaches the Coliseum BART station on Tuesday, April 25, 2017, in Oakland, Calif.

Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle

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BART trains and stations have been host to a wide variety of criminal or just odd events. Check out some of the weirdest antics in the news by clicking through.

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In April 2016, someone left their raw slab of meat on a BART seat. Riders noticed it at SF's Montgomery Street station and apparently it's a pretty pricy cut.

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In April 2016, someone left their raw slab of meat on a BART seat. Riders noticed it at SF's Montgomery Street station and apparently it's a pretty pricy cut.

Read the story.

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In January 2016, a man brought a fridge into a BART station, waited for a train and then brought the appliance onto a car and presumably loaded it off and hauled it into a kitchen, where it really belongs.

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In January 2016, a man brought a fridge into a BART station, waited for a train and then brought the appliance onto a car and presumably loaded it off and hauled it into a kitchen, where it really

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Photo: Kay Stalk, @kaystalk/Twitter

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Although he was ultimately acquitted, this guy still had to go trial over his alleged actions with a BART seat. The 28-year-old man was apparently found in a car “thrusting his pelvis against a seat,” masturbating and smoking cocaine. All in a day on BART.

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Photo: Raphael Kluzniok, The Chronicle

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In more inappropriate intimate acts on BART, a couple was going at it -- while being filmed. Police believe the sex on the train scene was for an amateur pornographic video, which BART officials quickly got a hold of and were not impressed.

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Photo: Brandon M. Mercer

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This struck a bad chord. A man was attacked by with a guitar at the North Concord/Martinez BART Station. His face and head were injured, and he might not be strumming “Kumbaya” anytime soon -- especially since he knew his attacker. less

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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This isn't the hammock, but if you squint it almost looks like this classic caught for eternity on MissionMission. In 2012, a man set up a hammock on a BART train and used his commute to relax to the fullest. less

Photo: James Tensuan, Special To The Chronicle

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BART got really honest in early 2016 after slowdowns and systemwide problems. The social media handler of @SFBART surprised the Twitterverse by saying it as it is. Even the New York Times took notice of the Twitter honesty from a public transit service online account. less

Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle

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A Bay Area acrobat had something of a naked breakdown at the 16th Street BART station. Which is sad, but it was quite the scene for station workers and fellow passengers. One worker testified that the acrobat “alternated between hooting like a chimpanzee and growling like a gorilla as he performed handstands and flips, grabbed passengers and fondled himself.” And some of it was caught on video. less

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Tradition is tradition. At least one day each year is officially designated as No Pants Day on BART. Men and women alike take it off and ride half-dressed. It’s a memorable ride for anyone who didn’t get the memo.

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Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle

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SF is known for its preponderance of (human) feces, but enough poop to shut down the Civic Center BART escalators seems extreme. But that’s what happened. Enough human waste collected inside the machinery to break it down and a hazardous-materials team was called to the scene. less

Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

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Tired of dealing with urine everywhere, city officials took the matter into their own hands and added pee-resistant walls at the 16th Street BART station plaza. The coating, which creates a surfaced texture, makes for a nice splash onto the unsuspecting person. less

Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle

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Man passed out on a BART car: not so usual. Man found with baggies of cocaine: also not that unusual. Man caught with said baggies: again, not so unusual. Man explaining to police he uses the cocaine to sprinkle on his marijuana: unusual. less

Photo: San Mateo Co. Sheriff

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After ongoing BART delays because of an electrical problem, fed-up BART riders took maintenance issues into their own hands and helped shut a stuck door. Anything to get trains moving!

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After ongoing BART delays because of an electrical problem, fed-up BART riders took maintenance issues into their own hands and helped shut a stuck door. Anything to get trains moving!

Read the story.

Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

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We’d like to think BART directors come up with some good ideas, but this one wasn’t one of them. The idea was inform riders about the people who represent them behind the scenes at BART. The “Get to Know Your Director” campaign would have included posters and ads throughout the transit system and on trains -- all for a cool $13,500. less

Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, Special To The Chronicle

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At one point BART was taking a stand against lying down, stretching out and sleeping at busy stations, like Powell. Not sure they’ve stuck to this plan, which initially was supposed to keep the stations clear for an emergency. less

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

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BART is still attempting to crack down on getting too comfortable, but this time on trains. Riders who take up more than their allotted one seat could be fined up to $500 after a second citation. So for travelers or manspreaders, don’t be a seat hog.

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Photo: Liz Hafalia Elizabeth Hafalia, The Chronicle

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Robberies aboard BART trains and in its stations have climbed 45 percent over the past year, according to crime statistics released Friday by the transit agency.

Data provided by BART after a formal request by The Chronicle shows the number of robberies occurring on the system during the first three months of the year jumped from 49 in 2016 to 71 in 2017.

While robberies are up, BART officials stress that their overall crime rates are low. Factoring in ridership, 1.6 robberies per million trips took place in 2016, and projections show that’s likely to rise to 1.7 per million this year, they say.

“We just want to make the point that crime is low and we serve so many people without incident,” said spokeswoman Alicia Trost.

The Chronicle’s request for BART’s crime figures followed last Saturday night’s train robbery by a swarm of juveniles, but the chilling robbery is not included in the data. The robbery occurred about 9:30 p.m. when a group of as many as 60 youths leaped over the fare gates at the station, dashed up the stairs, boarded multiple cars of a Dublin/Pleasanton train and robbed and beat some passengers.

Seven people were robbed in the attack — six on the train and one on the platform — and two were hit in the face. By the time police arrived, about three minutes later, the mob was fleeing the station and scattering in different directions, BART officials said.

BART police made their first arrest in the case early Friday afternoon, taking into custody a male minor. They would not release his age nor other identifying information, including his city of residence or where the arrest took place.

Police have identified several more suspects and obtained warrants for their arrests, said Lt. Terence McCarty, acting deputy chief of the BART Police Department. More arrests are forthcoming, he said.

McCarty said police were able to identify suspects and obtain warrants because of high-quality images captured by recently installed video cameras inside some of the cars invaded by the youths. BART agreed to outfit all trains with working cameras after a Chronicle story last year revealed most of the cameras were decoys incapable of recording video.

Not surprisingly, the crime statistics from Jan. 1 to March 31 show that the Coliseum station had the most robberies of any of BART’s 46 stations. Through the end of March, 13 robberies had taken place at the station followed by nine at Bay Fair station, six at Fruitvale station and four at Richmond and Rockridge stations.

Related video: Teens rob BART train passengers

Even before Saturday’s incident, BART police had recognized a surge in robberies, including group robberies, on the system and stepped up patrols with officers working overtime and focusing on Oakland stations, where most of the upswing was taking place. Since March, 19 individuals have been arrested in connection to group robberies at BART, McCarty said Friday.

On Thursday, Acting Chief Jeffrey Jennings issued an emergency staffing order to put more officers on trains and in stations beginning Monday. To accomplish it, Jennings canceled one regular day off during the week for each officer to put more officers on trains and in stations beginning May 1. Such orders are typically reserved for natural disasters or large events like protests. Extra officers will patrol at Coliseum, Fruitvale and Bay Fair stations.

McCarty said the staffing order was a sign that BART police are taking the swarm of group robberies seriously. “We’re completely focused on this issue,” he said.

Officers will focus their attention on stations that have shown bursts in criminal activity, especially robberies, McCarty said. Coliseum station has long been a crime hotspot among BART stations, and a leader in robberies.

Last year, 32 robberies were reported at Coliseum station, nearly twice as many as the 17 reported at Fruitvale station, which had the second most. Coliseum also recorded the most robberies in the BART system in 2015 with 16.

BART police plan to crack down on the robbers, who usually grab cell phones and, less frequently, purses and bags. But McCarty urged passengers to do their part by paying attention to their surroundings, especially near doors and when trains are pulling into stations. Robbers, sometimes working in groups, he said, look for people engrossed in their phones, snatch them as a train pulls into a station, then flee.

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

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