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BART's Powell Street Station Ranks As Agency's Most Crime-Plagued

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- BART's Powell Street Station in San Francisco sees the most total crime out of any of the transit agency's stops.

A breakdown of the numbers by the San Francisco Chronicle shows that violent crime has risen inside BART's transit gates just over 5-percent in just a 10-month period.  Assaults causing serious injuries were up 27-percent according to the report.

BART officials say crime numbers for the agency are similar to that of the cities it serves.

"BART is way safer than most people give it credit for.  We do have our fair share, but look at the types of crimes we have.  Most are crimes of opportunity – purse snatches, phone snatches.  There are very few armed robberies or strong-arm robberies," Jeffery Jennings, a deputy chief for the BART police department told the Chronicle.

Bay Fair, Hayward, Fruitvale, Concord and North Concord/Martinez stations rounded out the top five stations with the most violent crimes per capita during the period examined, while Coliseum station saw the most vehicle thefts from parking lots.

Glen Park station saw the least amount of violent crime.

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