Officials from BART, the public metro system
serving California's San Francisco Bay area, have come under fire for
their refusal to release crime surveillance videos, claiming such tapes
will promote stereotypes and "stir up racial animosity."
A BART official defended the
agency's decision on Monday by saying information about criminal
misconduct will be withheld at this time because of the media's
"disproportionate elevation" of crimes that "unfairly affect and
characterize riders of color," the
San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The decision, however, has been roundly criticized by
at last two BART board members who are calling for greater transparency
on how crimes are reported within the system.
Since the cameras were installed in April, a string of cell phone
robberies have been reported on board the metro, according to local news
outlets.
On April 22, 40 to 60
youths* boarded a train at the Coliseum stop and robbed seven passengers, assaulting two,
according to local station KCBS-TV. On June 28, a group of four teens assaulted a passenger and made off with another cell phone.
*emphasis added
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