Public Safety

Public safety is the core of a functioning and productive society and vital for attracting and retaining a competitive workforce. Unfortunately, issues surrounding crime, safety and cleanliness throughout the Bay Area have soared in recent years, pushing residents, employees, and other visitors away from city centers, lowering transit ridership, and threatening the region’s economic recovery. Restoring confidence in the safety of our downtown business districts, neighborhoods, transit systems and other public spaces is critical. The Bay Area Council has made great strides in this policy area since its conception in late 2022 – it is consistently ranked as one of the Council’s top two priority policy areas and is one of the most actively engaged policy areas. The Council will continue to make public safety a priority policy area in 2026 and beyond in order to ensure that the region is a safe place for all who live, work, and visit.

Key Priorities

With the input and guidance of Bay Area Council Board and Executive Committee leadership, as well as Public Safety Committee Co-Chairs and members, the Council is prioritizing a robust set of public safety goals, including but not limited to:

• Expand the use of technology as a key public safety resource and support its growth in the Bay Area by expanding and integrating security camera networks, including Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) and speed safety cameras, and expanding and expediting the use of drone technology, AI, and other forms of innovative tech security, and support reforms to local and state laws that responsibly accelerate and expand the deployment and use of emerging safety technologies
• Improve safety and conditions in Oakland through a targeted, coordinated campaign that aligns efforts in both the private and public sectors in our shared goal to ensure a safe and prosperous future for Oakland and the East Bay, including continuing to aid with police recruitment and retention
• Continue to lead advocacy to reduce crime and perceptions of crime on BART and other transit systems to draw riders back to the system, and ensure that safety and cleanliness are conditions of the future regional transportation funding measure
• Help to increase security presence and quicker emergency response times throughout the Bay Area by supporting public safety agencies to fill unprecedented vacancies with local, diverse hires in partnership with the Bay Area Council’s Workforce Development team
• Continue to advocate for Proposition 36 implementation dollars and other tools and resources to combat retail and property theft, property crime, and hard drug use and sale

Recent Progress

• Published landmark report, “Making Oakland Safe and its Economy Strong: A Vision for Lasting Change,” which ties Oakland’s crime crisis to its economic crisis and yields ten recommendations to improve the safety and vibrancy of Oakland
• Successfully advocated for the expeditious deployment of BART next generation fare gates at all 50 stations, which were completed in 2025 ahead of schedule
• Passed AB 992 (Irwin, 2025), which removes a harmful four-year degree requirement for law enforcement officers in California that would have taken effect November 2025, and establishes clearer minimum education pathways and requirements for peace officers to help with both recruitment and training
• Passed SB 276 (Wiener, 2025), which authorizes San Francisco to adopt permitting and penalties to curb the resale of stolen goods in public spaces and improves coordination between enforcement and retailers
• Passed AB 476 (Gonzalez, 2025), which increases prohibitions and penalties for copper and metal theft from transit, utilities, and public infrastructure
• Passed AB 394 (Wilson, 2025), which expands battery and trespass protections that previously applied to only bus and train operators to all transit employees (fare inspectors, janitors, contractors, etc.)
• Passed California Proposition 36 on the November 2024 ballot, which allows for stronger enforcement tools for many retail theft and hard drug-related crimes, and importantly allows for mandated treatment for individuals struggling with addiction
• Passed Oakland Measure NN on the November 2024 ballot, which maintains and grows critical funding for public safety personnel, programs, and infrastructure in Oakland
• Passed San Francisco Proposition E on the March 2024 ballot, which expanded key technology resources to fight crime
• Passed AB 2371 (Carrillo and Flora, 2024), which cuts red tape related to security infrastructure
• Passed SB 905 (Wiener, 2024), which makes crimes related to vehicle break-ins easier to prosecute
• Killed AB 819 (Bryan, 2024), which, if it had passed, would have decriminalized fare evasion
• Advanced local policies to develop and expand a public-private camera network plan in SF, Oakland, and San Jose, including 500+ networked public-private cameras in Downtown Oakland, and over 2,000 in San Francisco, with expansion efforts underway in San Jose and multiple other local jurisdictions

A Closer Look: Transit Safety

The Bay Area Council’s public safety legacy project lies at the intersection of public transit and public safety, specifically on the Bay Area’s most essential transit system – BART. A 2023 poll administered by the Council and EMC Research revealed that current and lapsed riders would return to BART in significant numbers if crime, safety and cleanliness were improved.

In response, the Council developed a transit safety work plan and built a strong coalition of over 100 member companies who are engaged and invested in transit safety, reliability, and cleanliness. The advocacy of this coalition secured several BART safety improvements, including a redeployment of BART Police Officers so that the majority are based in trains and stations instead of in patrol cars, the timely deployment of BART’s next generation fare gates at every station throughout the system, and more dedicated funds for BART’s Office of the Inspector General. While more work needs to be done, the system has seen a significant impact from these changes, with overall crime down throughout the system, more visible police and security presence, stronger reported feelings of safety from BART riders, and an increase in ridership.

The Council also continues to lead regional advocacy to ensure any future transit agency funding is conditional on enhancements to safety, cleanliness, and reliability of transit systems.

Public Safety Committee Co-Chairs

Greg Suhr, Director of Safety and Security for Salesforce Tower; Former SFPD Chief of Police
Tina D’Agostin, CEO and Co-Founder, Alcatraz AI
Kristi McKenney, Executive Director, Port of Oakland
Jeff Littlefield, Chief Operating Officer, SFO
Denise Pinkston, Managing Director, TMG Partners

Get Involved

Join the movement to make the Bay Area a safer place for all who live, work, and visit. To get involved in the committee and to learn more information about Bay Area Council public safety initiatives, email Vice President of Public Policy Laura Hill.