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SFPD transit unit reports mixed Muni crime trends, highlights theft-of-service and canine/TSA programs
Summary
Lieutenant Joe Garrity told the Police Commission that overall Muni crime is down but robberies rose; he highlighted TOSS (theft-of-service) operations, TOMS sweeps, VIPER teams and a TSA-funded passive-canine program as countermeasures and identified high‑concern lines including the 14, 38 and the F line.
Lieutenant Joe Garrity, who presented the Municipal Transportation (Muni) crime report on Oct. 23, said SFPD’s transit-focused operations have reduced some categories of crime while robberies have increased on certain lines.
Garrity told commissioners that, for the fiscal period under review, robberies on transit rose to 161 from prior counts and that pickpocket larceny fell by 127 incidents after deployment of theft-of-service (TOSS) operations and a focus on uniform visibility. "High uniform visibility with high frequency and unpredictability is the way to go," Garrity said, describing the department’s tactic for transit safety.
He gave line-level detail: he named the 14 (Mission) and the 38 (Geary) as recurring trouble lines and said the relatively new T line had lower incidents so far. Garrity also described Muni partnerships: Transit Order Maintenance Sweeps (TOMS), a Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPER) team pilot, and a TSA-funded passive-canine program that seeks odors of suspicious packages rather than engage suspects.
Garrity said some programs are budget-neutral while others, such as operator-protection deployments, require overtime funding. He noted an approximate daily ridership figure used for planning (he cited 734,000 riders a day in Muni) and said the department is seeking radio interoperability and possible federal grants for communications upgrades.
Commissioners asked for additional briefings and line-specific deployments. Garrity said SFPD will adapt deployments if Muni reroutes or alters frequency under forthcoming transit master‑plan changes.
The commission did not vote on any resource requests at the meeting; Garrity’s presentation served as an operational briefing and request for continued interagency coordination.
