BART's Crunican to introduce security plan after fatal stabbing in Oakland

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) General Manager Grace Crunican on Thursday will present to the agency's board a safety and security action plan.

Crunican's proposal follows a fatal stabbing that occurred late last month at BART's MacArthur Station in Oakland, California. Another stabbing occurred at the same station late last week, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Her plan calls for boosting the visible presence of police and employees in BART's system; improving the network of surveillance cameras; and increasing public safety outreach.

"Our riders are demanding that we do more to maintain public safety and this plan offers multiple new initiatives we can immediately begin to roll out," Crunican said in a press release.

Crunican also proposed installing three emergency call boxes on each station platform. Each call box would have a direct intercom with the BART Police Department, while a camera would activate whenever the intercom button is pushed.

The cost of the call boxes would be $5.2 million, according to BART.

In addition, Crunican has proposed accelerating a plan to stop people from bypassing fare gates. The BART board will consider that proposal in September.

Some of the safety and security proposals can be implemented with Crunican's authority, while others require board action. The cost estimate of the entire plan is $28 million.

In the interim, BART has boosted police presence at its stations.