BART police have arrested 27 suspected drug users at the transit agency's Civic Center Station this week, in a three-day sweep that ran over this Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

According to BART, "Police used plainclothes officers and video surveillance cameras to identify potential criminal activity. Once the plainclothes officers confirmed the activity, uniformed officers from BART’s Critical Asset Protection team moved in to make the arrest and gather evidence."

The effort is "designed to make the station safer and cleaner for customers," BART says. According to Jeff Jennings, who is currently BART's Acting Police Chief, the transit agency wants "to send a clear message that drug use at our stations will not be tolerated."

The sweep, Jennings says, “is in direct response from our customers and frontline employees who have reported witnessing drug use specifically in the free areas of our stations. This illegal activity impacts our riders and employees as the users leave behind hazardous items.”

This won't be the last time BART has an operation like this one, they say, as "plan to use lessons learned to lay the groundwork for a joint operation with the San Francisco Police Department to reduce criminal behavior, including the potential sale and use of narcotics in and around downtown San Francisco BART stations." Until then, BART says that they will focus on this week's arrestees, "following up with the San Francisco District Attorney’s office to ensure effective cases are built against the suspects."

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