BART Admits Most Train Surveillance Cameras Are Decoys, Or Just Plain Broken
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- In a surprising revelation, BART officials admitted most of the cameras aboard the trains are decoys, or just plain don't work.
The transit agency told the San Francisco Chronicle more than 70 percent of the cameras are "fakes, and that other were either broken or inactive."
The fake cameras are part of a decoy program the agency plans to phase out at a cost of about $1.4 million.
Right now, there are four cameras mounted on the ceiling of each car. BART told the Chronicle only about one out of every five cars has a "working camera system." The agency relies on the decoys "to fool commuters and criminals."
BART's disclosure of a lack of working security cameras has drawn fire from at least one state lawmaker.
Sen. Steve Glazer called it an example of the agency's disregard for rider safety.
"With one hand, BART had the money to pay exorbitant raises to their workers and managers, and now with the other hand they claim their pocket is empty for new trains and safety improvements," the Democrat from Orinda said in a statement. "BART's recent promise to add working cameras is a hollow cover-up for years of bad choices."
News of BART's decoy program came to light after the January 9 shooting of 19-year-old Carlos Misael Funez-Romero aboard a train. Fake surveillance cameras inside the car failed to capture the killing. However, BART was able to provide law enforcement with photos of the Funez-Romero and the suspect as they entered and exited the stations because BART surveillance cameras outside the trains are real.
