BART Increases Inspector General Budget by 170% and Boosts Police Presence Amid Ongoing Safety Debates

San Francisco, CA – Recent public scrutiny, highlighted by a tweet from Garry Tan, has brought renewed attention to governance and safety at Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). Tan's social media post directly questioned BART Board Director and former President Janice Li regarding funding for a watchdog inspector general, support for defunding the police, and current safety conditions within the transit system. These inquiries reflect ongoing debates about BART's operational transparency and rider security.

The accusations regarding the Inspector General's office follow a period of significant change. In March 2023, Harriet Richardson, BART's first Inspector General, resigned early, citing obstruction from BART management, board, and unions, alongside insufficient funding. An Alameda County Civil Grand Jury report from September 2022 had previously stated the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) was "significantly underfunded and unable to fulfill its mission," noting its three-person staff was notably smaller than those in other major transit agencies.

Despite the initial controversy, BART has since moved to bolster the OIG. Janice Li, as Board President, expressed surprise at Richardson's departure but affirmed the board's commitment to the office, stating she hoped to "significantly augment" its budget. Two weeks after Richardson's resignation, BART authorized a $2.7 million budget for the OIG, a 170% increase from its original $1 million allocation. In May 2023, Claudette Biemeret was appointed as the new Inspector General, with Li emphasizing the OIG's crucial role in accountability.

Regarding police funding, Janice Li acknowledged the "groundswell" of support for police reform and defunding in June 2020, stating, "To ignore that groundswell of support... is to be willfully ignorant." However, the BART Board ultimately voted against eliminating or drastically reducing the police budget in fiscal year 2021. Instead, BART implemented reforms, including the deployment of unarmed crisis intervention specialists and ambassadors, which Li described as complementing sworn officers.

More recently, BART has increased its police presence to address rising safety concerns. In March 2023, BART announced an additional 8 to 18 officers per shift, with Chief Ed Alvarez stating this strategy would "maximize the visible presence of the BART Police Department." Li has also attributed some safety challenges to broader societal issues, remarking, "Our effectiveness of these programs is really really limited by honestly the City and County of San Francisco's inability to have real solutions and real exits from homelessness and to really deal with the addiction crisis that we have here." Beyond increased patrols, BART is installing 700 new fare gates by 2026 to combat fare evasion and enhance security, aiming to improve rider experience and system integrity.