TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Salvador Llamas, General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
SUBJECT: Annual Security Report
BRIEFING ITEM
AGENDA PLANNING REQUEST: ☐
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider receiving the 2025 Annual Security Report.
Staff Contact:
Salvador Llamas, General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
Body
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Goal - Safe and Secure Operations
Initiative - Service Quality
The Annual Security Report provides Sheriff’s Office, Federal Transit Administration, and Security metrics and analysis that align with the following Strategic Plan Goals and Initiatives: Safe and Secure Operations, Convenient and Reliable Service, a High-Performing Workforce, and Service Quality.
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
There are no budgetary or fiscal impacts related to this report.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
The Annual Security Report provides a comprehensive overview of the District’s security program performance and is a new report starting in 2026. Prior to 2026, Security provided quarterly Protective Services Reports. The District’s law enforcement services are provided by the Alameda (ACSO) and Contra Costa (CCSO) County Sheriff’s Offices, and the District’s site security is provided by American Guard Services (AGS).The Security Department is tracking new metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that better support the District’s Strategic Goals and Initiatives and more accurately align with the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan (PTASP) regulations and Transportation Security Administration requirements.
Please see Attachment 2 for descriptions and definitions of reported metrics and groupings discussed in the staff report.
Protective Services Reporting
(Reference Attachment 1: Table 1)
The Protective Services Reporting on select topics captures data that provides a general overview, or summary of various performance metrics, that measures incidents, response, and performance of the Alameda and Contra Costa Counties Sheriff Offices.
Sheriff’s response to AC Transit related activities continued to increase over the previous two years, with 99.85% of responses related to AC Transit. This is compared to 2023 (96.68%) and 2024 (99.55%). (Attachment 1, Chart 1: Sheriff Activity Attributed to AC Transit as a Percentage; and Attachment 3, Slide 3)
Sheriff calls taken from Operations Control Center (OCC) decreased by 17.3%, resulting in a reduction of 12.2% in calls generating written reports. (Attachment 1, Chart 2-A and 2-B: Sheriff Calls and Reports Taken; and Attachment 3, Slide 4)
The Sheriff’s response time average for 2025 was 7 minutes and 25 seconds. This is an increase over 2024 by 29 seconds. Multiple factors impact average response times including location of calls, call priority level, and number of calls per month. 2025 recorded an 85% increase to calls in the Hayward and Fremont area, which are expected to have longer average response times. (Attachment 1, Chart 3: Sheriff Response Times; and Attachment 3, Slide 5)
Arrests remained consistent with 2024, recording 131 arrests in 2025. Felony arrest fell by 12.2% and misdemeanor arrest increased by 8.6%. (Reference Attachment 1, Table 1: Annual Protective Services Reporting)
A decrease in calls for service and the addition of Hyden AI to support traffic enforcement, allows for increased visual presence, as well as other proactive criminal deterrence such as bus boarding and rides. There were 19,685 boardings and 1,185 rides in 2025, which was a 25.7% increase in boardings and a 27.3% increase in rides over 2023.
Sheriff’s Citation Metrics
(Reference Attachment 1, Table 2-A and 2-B Sheriff Citation Metrics; and Attachment 3, Slide 6)
During Calendar Year 2025 a total of 3,667 Sheriff citations were issued across the District with 174 citations issued on the BRT Line during that same period. BRT citations represented approximately 4.7% of all citations.
There was a 29.7% decrease in all traffic citations, and a 50.4% decrease in BRT traffic citations issued in 2025 as compared to 2024. The implementation and support of the Hayden AI system impacted these numbers, as the Sheriff’s citations system and the Hayden AI system do not allow duplicate citations to be generated.
Hayden AI citations also dropped 28.7% from Quarter 4 of 2024 to Quarter 4 of 2025. Additional year over year data is still needed to conclude a positive impact by the implementation of Hayden AI, but the District is optimistic that it has reduced traffic infractions, allowing for more proactive criminal deterrence, and an overall safer transit environment. (A more detailed Hayden AI update will be presented to the board in a separate report.)
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) Reporting
(Reference Attachment 1, Table 3: NIBRS Reporting
The NIBRS is a system used by police to report detailed information about crimes. Unlike older systems that recorded only the main offense, NIBRS includes data on all crimes, victims, and offenders involved in an incident. This means it provides a fuller picture of crime trends, helping agencies understand and respond more effectively to what is happening in their communities.
NIBRS reporting began in July 2024 and focuses on three crime types: Person Crimes, Property Crimes, and Society Crimes. Eighteen months of reporting showed an 18.8% decrease in overall crimes in the first half of 2025 (January - June). This includes a drop in property and society crimes, and an increase in person crimes. However, the second half of 2025 (July - December) results showed a realignment with the previous year’s numbers for all crime types.
As NIBRS reporting data matures, we will be able to identify better year-over-year and trend analysis.
AC Transit Operator Assault Trend (Reference Attachment 1, Chart 4-A and 4-B: Operator Assaults Per 100,000 Revenue Miles; and Attachment 3, Slides 7 - 10)
AC Transit Operator Assaults are those altercations where the Alameda County or Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office responded. In addition to the National Transit Database (NTD) reportable physical assaults, these reported altercations include non-physical threats, intimidation and attempted physical assault, giving a greater assessment of the threats and events operators are experiencing.
During Calendar Year 2025, a total of 46 Operator Involved Assaults were reported:
• ACSO reported a total of 41 Assaults on Operators.
• CCSO reported a total of 5 Assaults on Operators.
Total Revenue Miles operated during the Calendar Year 2025 was 16,940,127. Revenue miles for Calendar Years 2023 and 2024 were 16,856,304 and 16,589,896. The Operator Assault Rate per 100,000 Revenue Miles dropped to an average of 0.27 per 100,000 Revenue Miles in 2025, after remaining stagnant in 2023 and 2024 at 0.32 assaults per 100,000 miles.
Operator Reported Altercations
In addition to NTD reportable assaults and Sheriff assault responses, the District also tracks total operator altercations. An altercation is defined as an event that is assigned a code 76 or any of its variants. Coding variances include:
• 76A - Operator involved Threat/Assault - Verbal
• 76B - Operator involved Assault - Physical
• 76W - Operator involved Threat/Assault - Weapon
Altercations include assaults requiring a Sheriff’s response and assaults meeting NTD reporting criteria, as well as altercations not requiring a sheriff’s response.
There was a total of 101 altercations reported by operators in 2025. 46 operator assaults, or 45.5% of these altercations, required a sheriff’s response. This is down by 14.8% from the 54 assault responses in 2024, and 55 in 2023. This also included a 15.6% decrease in assaults per 100,000 revenue miles.
Total altercations in 2025 (101) remained consistent with 2024 altercations (104). Of these altercations 44.5% occurred in Oakland, 11.9% in Berkeley, and 9.9% in Hayward. All other cities accounted for 5.9% or less, or 33.7% of all other alterations. In addition, 57.4% of altercations occurred during Early-PM and Peak-PM time, with International Blvd, Broadway, and San Pablo Ave recording the highest number of altercations.
National Transit Database Reportable Events
(Reference Attachment 1, Table 4: NTD Reported Events, and (See Attachment 3- Slides 11-15)
The goal of FTA NTD reporting requirement is to bring consistency to transit agencies’ assault logging and tracking through clear direction and definitions. The District is required to log all assaults into the NTD database within seven days of an incident. The Department of Safety and Security record, track and analyze this data to align with the FTA’s PTASP regulations. This data is presented on a bi-annual basis to the board during the Annual Safety and Annual Security Staff Reports.
In February 2023, the FTA updated the reporting requirements for assaults on operators to be reported in two Safety and Security categories: Major Assaults (S&S 40’s) and Non-Major Assaults (S&S 50’s).
S&S 40's - Major Events
Major events are violent personal attacks reported under S&S-40: Major Safety and Security Events. These are typically intentional acts resulting in serious injury or requiring immediate medical attention. They meet the FTA's major event reporting thresholds, that include:
• The assault leads to a fatality or serious injury.
• The injury requires transportation to a medical facility.
• The incident results in significant property damage (e.g., over $25,000).
• The event causes major service disruption or evacuation.
Examples:
• A transit operator being punched and needing hospitalization.
• Any assault involving a weapon that causes serious harm.
S&S 50's - Non-Major Events
Non-major events are recorded under S&S-50: Non-Major Safety and Security Events. These are less severe intentional personal attacks that do not meet the S&S-40 major event thresholds. They may still involve harm or aggression but typically result in minor or no injuries and do not require emergency medical transport.
Examples:
• A rider pushing a transit worker without causing injury.
• Verbal threats of violence that do not escalate physically.
• Slapping or spitting without requiring medical care.
NTD Operator Assault Data
The District reviewed NTD-reported assault data from February 2023 through December 2025, that includes events from ground transit only. During this period, AC Transit recorded 11 Major Events, placing it 15th nationally. Additionally, AC Transit reported 84 Non-Major Physical Assaults during the same timeframe, placing it 25th Nationally.
The District reported 6 operator assaults as S&S-40 Major Events in 2025. This increased from 0 in 2024, and 5 in 2023. There were 32 Non-Major Physical Assaults reported in 2025, which was an increase from 26 incidents in both 2023 and 2024.
Comparison of the District nationally with other transit agencies remains consistent with the ‘National Transit Database (NTD) Operator Assault Report’ on October 8, 2025. The District experienced a 22.5% increase in NTD reported physical assaults from 2023 to 2025. The 2025 increase in physical assaults was experienced by area transit agencies and agencies nationwide. From 2023 to 2025, operator assaults increased nationally by 38.7% and Bay Area agency combined operator assaults increase by 69.5%.
While the district saw an increase in NTD reportable events, both total of assaults requiring a sheriff’s response (-14.8%) and operator altercations (-3.0%) were down. With continued training and guidance, the District’s number one priority is to reduce overall assaults, but more specifically physical assaults.
The District’s contracted law enforcement service providers continue to make this the highest priority to help reduce the number of assaults on operators. Safety and Security staff, along with partnering Sheriff Offices, may use incident mapping data to determine where to best deploy sheriff’s office personnel to address this issue.
Workplace Violence Prevention Program
Senate Bill 553 mandated that employers implement a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP) in compliance with California Labor Code (LC) 6401.9 by July 1, 2024. The WVPP includes employee training, reporting requirements, incident response, a threat assessment process, and record keeping. The goal of establishing a WVPP is to reduce violent incidents in the workplace at all AC Transit worksites through employee awareness, training, identification and reporting of violent incidents, tracking of violent incidents, and corrective actions when hazards are recognized.
The District met the requirements of CA LC 6409.1 in 2024, and published an update to the WVPP in May 2025. In 2025, Safety & Security provided in-person training to 2,291 attendees and online training to 420 employees through the new E-Learning WVPP course developed by the Human Resources Learning and Development team.
In calendar year 2025, there were 12 workplace violence events that were successfully managed by the District’s Threat Assessment Team (TAT). Of these, 10 events were Type III - Employee (previous/past), and two events were Type II - Client/Customer. No physical altercations, injuries, or weapons were discovered in any of the WVPP events.
Annual Accomplishments and Highlights
The District remains proactive in our ongoing efforts to enhance the safety and security of the employees, customers, and properties. The following are highlights of accomplishments from 2025.
• Both the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and the divisions/sites Emergency Response Plans (ERP) were updated. The EOP saw its first major update since 2016, and the ERP was expanded to cover new risks such as battery and hydrogen emergency response.
• A new contract was successfully negotiated and implemented with the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office.
• The WVPP was updated from the original 2024 version, and mandatory WVPP training compliance was conducted.
• The District worked closely with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) by completing a Baseline Assessment for Security Enhancement (BASE) and conducting three Security Enhancement Through Assessment (SETA) assessments.
• The District also successfully underwent two Security Sensitive Employee Requirement assessments conducted by the TSA.
• The District restarted the AC Transit and City of Oakland Safety Working Group, focused on improving safety along the Oakland corridor that includes representatives from the AC Transit board and staff, Oakland City Council, Oakland Police Department, and Alameda County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO).
• The District continued to partner with ACSO and regional partners by providing buses for tactical training and awareness for law enforcement officers.
Priority goals for 2026 include continued focus on operator assault reduction, completion and implementation of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office contract, enhancement of the District’s Deescalation training in conjunction with ATU Local 192, continued partnership with TSA for security enhancement, and continued expansion of data collection and extraction for enhanced program analysis.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
This report does not recommend a course of action with notable advantages or disadvantages
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:
This report does not recommend an alternative analysis.
PRIOR RELEVANT BOARD ACTION/POLICIES:
None
ATTACHMENTS:
1. 2025 Annual Report - Reporting Tables and Graphs on Selected Metrics
2. Public Safety and Security Metrics and Descriptions
3. 2025 Public Safety and Security Annual Report
Prepared by:
Ronald Erb, Manager of Public Safety & Security
In Collaboration with:
Scott Arjun, Senior Management Analyst
Zaric Wong, Statistical Data and Info Analyst
Wilson Salinas, Statistical Data & Information Analyst
Approved/Reviewed by:
Paul Kincaid, Assistant General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
Aimee L. Steele, General Counsel/Chief Legal Officer
Chris Andrichak, Chief Financial Officer