BART leadership is taking steps to build upon more than a decade of reforms and continuous improvements to advance progressive and equitable policing and the commitment to fight racism.
More than 10 Years of Reform & Policy Updates
Independent Oversight
- The BART Citizen Oversight Model is among the strongest in the country.
- The oversight model established both the Office of the Independent Police Auditor (OIPA) and the BART Police Citizen Review Board (BPCRB).
- Both provide for independent investigations of alleged police misconduct, review of BPD Internal Affairs investigations, policy recommendations, reviews of every use-of-force incident, and civilian community engagement.
- BPD’s Chief is not able to unilaterally reject findings by the OIPA or BPCRB.
- OIPA has unfettered access to police records, data, reports, and videos.
- The OIPA role has evolved over time.
- The OIPA can now investigate complaints from community members whether or not they were the victim of alleged police misconduct.
Body Cameras
- In 2012 BPD was among the first agencies in the country to require officers to wear body cameras with appropriate discipline for failed or late activation.
- In early March 2020, BPD, the BART Police Officers’ Association, the BART Police Managers’ Association and OIPA reached an agreement to recalibrate the equipment to include a one-minute buffer with audio prior to activation, which is a 100% increase from the previous 30-second silent buffer.
Use of Force Policy
BART Police has a progressive use of force policy that adheres to the requirements of CA Assembly Bill 392 which dictates the circumstances under which police may use deadly force:
- Officers must identify themselves and issue a verbal warning prior to the use of a firearm or TASER.
- Officers are prohibited from shooting at a moving vehicle.
- Officers are required to attempt to de-escalate as the first option prior to any use of force.
- Every use of force is reviewed internally and by OIPA to determine if the de-escalation effort was properly performed.
- BPD requires any officer present and observing another officer using excessive force to intercede and promptly report these observations to a supervisor.
- BPD has banned the use of the Carotid Control Hold entirely where previously it was only justifiable under circumstances where deadly force was warranted.
Expanded Training
The annual training provided to BART police officers exceeds the standards set by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST).
- POST requires 24 hours of advanced officer training every two years. BPD officers are trained for a minimum of 24 hours annually.
- BPD was the first California agency to have POST-certified instructors for Fair and Impartial Policing training.
- Officers also receive training in bias-based policing, crisis intervention, cultural competence, and de-escalation.
- Establishing a community based, anti-racism training course.
- Updated the department’s force-option simulator training tools to reflect the new requirement for restraint under AB 392. POST currently offers limited training in this area and BPD will be on the cutting-edge of crafting interactive, scenario-based, video training related to this new law.
- Deployed Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) training to the annual advanced officer training curriculum. ICAT provides officers with the skills to safely respond to situations involving persons who are unarmed or are armed with weapons other than firearms, and who may be experiencing a mental health or other crisis.
Early Warning System
The program monitors BPD employee performance, identifies behavior that may be inconsistent with professional police conduct and cooperatively engages employees to resolve areas of concern to improve behavior.
- The goal of EWS is to identify problems and correct them through constructive counseling sessions, intervention, and/or training, reducing the need for formal discipline.
- All BPD employees are subject to this process.
- EWS is constantly monitored with automatic notifications to Internal Affairs and OIPA.
Transgender Policy
- At the recommendation of the BPCRB, BART Police was an early adopter of a policy aimed at ensuring equity for the transgender community.
- The policy is the result of input with stakeholders in the transgender community, as well as with police, union representatives, and other community stakeholders, including the Transgender Law Center in Oakland and the National Center for Transgender Equality.
Fighting Racism
BART and BPD not only stand against discrimination but are also fighting racism.
- Office of Civil Rights: Oversees a host of equity programs that cover workforce, contract, and economic opportunity policies.
- Demographic Data: BPD collects comprehensive demographic data on all stops. The department will exceed California Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) requirements for first annual report on demographic stop data by April 2023.
- GARE Training: The District has prioritized advancing systemic racial equity by participating in the Government Alliance on Race and Equity training series.
- In August 2022 BART PD and the Independent Police Auditor jointly announced removal of the term "excited delirium" from BPD policy manual and that it will no longer be used in written reports. The American Medical Association opposed the use of the term as an official medical diagnosis and referred to studies showing it has been misapplied and diagnosed disproportionately in connection with law enforcement-related deaths of Black and Brown individuals, who are also more likely to experience excessive sedative intervention instead of behavioral de-escalation.
Accreditation
Certification
- BPD is among the 6% of law enforcement agencies in the nation and 1 of 17 in California to earn the prestigious accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).
- BART entered the accreditation process voluntarily to begin a period of self-assessment and review of policies by outside experts.
Noble Report
- The accreditation caps a process of implementing recommendations from The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) final report issued in 2010.
Team Approach
- BPD’s progressive policing reforms would not be as robust as they are without buy in from multiple stakeholders.
- The BART Police Officers Association and BART Police Managers Association have been active partners in this process along with BPD leadership, the BART Board of Directors, the Office of the Independent Police Auditor, and the BART Police Citizen Review Board.
- Community input has also been and will continue to be a vital part of this process.
Data Transparency and Review
On January 14, 2021, the BART Board of Directors was presented with a report from the Center for Policing Equity (CPE) which analyzes BPD data from 2012 through 2017 and offers recommendations. BPD is the first transit law enforcement agency in the country to undergo such a review by the Center for Policing Equity. BPD voluntarily agreed to this process with the hope the findings would form the foundation of a data-driven approach to ensuring equitable policing.
The BART Police Department (BPD) is moving forward with the adoption of all six recommendations from the Center for Policing Equity, view the presentation:
- Update use of force, stops, and searches data collection.
- Require supervisor review of stop records.
- Review fare enforcement policies.
- Adopt a new policy on drawing or displaying firearms.
- Further examine the causes of distrust with the community.
- Collaborate with other officials including the BART Office of the Independent Police Auditor and the BART Police Citizen Review Board.