IE 11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

New App Allows BART Riders to Discreetly Report Crime

The app will encourage riders to report suspicious activity, with the slogan “If you see something, say something.”

A new phone app by BART on Thursday will make it easier for riders to report crime and suspicious behavior without being heard, officials for the agency said.

 
The BARTWatch app will be available for free on all Apple iOS and Android devices and will allow riders to send a text description of what they are seeing on a train or at a station, along with a picture. A “one tap” button on the app also will connect a rider with BART police.
 
The app also allows BART police to send alerts to riders when a child is lost or missing.
 
BART officials are debuting the app at 11 a.m. Thursday news conference, at the Powell Street station in San Francisco. The app will encourage riders to report suspicious activity, with the slogan “If you see something, say something.”
 
“This new technology will allow us to partner with our riders so they can … help us keep the system safer and more secure,” BART Police Chief Kenton Rainey said in a statement on Thursday morning.
 
The app also is offered in Spanish and Chinese, officials said.
 
©2014 the Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.)