BART communication with public questioned after 2nd teen mob robbery

OAKLAND, Calif. — The San Francisco Chronicle reports that a BART director, who was at an Oakland station when a pack of teenagers committed a violent robbery for the second time in three months, is concerned both about crime on the system and BART’s recent decision to release less public information about crimes.

BART does not regularly publish details about crimes, and in the wake of the first teen mob robbery, it stopped providing daily summaries of crimes to the media. As a result, the recent robbery that occurred wasn’t widely known about until The Chronicle reported on it after speaking to one of the victims five days later. The woman said her iPhone was stolen but then returned to her by a heroic fellow passenger who confronted the teens and had to endure a barrage of punches and kicks on the concrete train platform.

The board director said she plans to meet with BART’s police chief to find out what they are going to do about crime on the transit system, which has seen a surge in robberies this year. For the full story, click here.