The BART Police Department is comprised of 296 personnel, of which 206 are sworn peace officers anywhere in California. Chief of Police Gary Gee commands the department that is BART's sole law-enforcement entity and provides the full range of police services. To prepare for major emergencies, critical incidents, and tactical responses, the department is a signatory to the Bay Area's mutual-aid pacts and has teams of highly trained officers for tactical response and/or crisis negotiations.
Community-service officers, communications/9-1-1 dispatchers, revenue protection-guards, and clerical staff and supervisors comprise the department's civilian employees. Qualifications and training for BART police officers exceed the guidelines of the state's Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, which certifies all California peace officers. In addition to meeting POST requirements, every BART police officer applicant must have completed at least a year of college. Most officers are assigned to the Patrol Bureau and become eligible for specialized assignments, including: field training officer; canine handler; SWAT operator; detective; bicycle patrol; personnel and training officer; applicant background investigator; crime analyst; administrative traffic officer; FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force investigator; and undercover anti-vandalism and special-enforcement teams.
The Patrol Bureau is decentralized into four geographical police zones, each with its own headquarters and field offices. Zone lieutenants are assigned the personnel, equipment, and resources to manage their respective police operations. This community-based deployment strategy enhances the BART police's ability to work more closely with the local residents, allied public-safety agencies, businesses, schools, and other transit district employees. There are BART police facilities and field offices in Oakland, Concord, Walnut Creek, Pittsburg, El Cerrito, Dublin/Pleasanton, Castro Valley, San Leandro, Hayward, San Francisco, Colma, and San Bruno where lieutenants, sergeants, officers, and community-service officers report for duty.
To further ensure the personal safety of BART riders, pay phones and emergency call-boxes in parking lots connect directly to the BART police 9-1-1 communications center. The District also utilizes video-surveillance systems in trains, stations, and parking lots. Since 9/11, the emphasis has been to further harden BART's critical infrastructure against the threat of terrorism. The department hosts drills for the region's first-responders and participates in local, state, and federal counterterrorism working groups. An officer is assigned fulltime to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and a command officer is designated as the department's mutual-aid, counter-terrorism, and homeland-security liaison. All of BART PD's canines are highly trained and certified to detect explosives.
