SEPTA officials released new quarterly data on Thursday, showing a drop in serious crimes — specifically shootings and aggravated assault — onboard its public transit system.
Despite budgetary woes, SEPTA has hired a record number of new police officers with 248 uniformed officers currently on staff — its largest police force in over a decade. An additional 13 officers are expected to graduate from police academy this June.
“Safety is SEPTA’s highest value, and over the past three years, we have more than doubled spending on safety, security, and cleaning priorities, demonstrating our commitment to deliver the safest, cleanest, and most reliable service,” said SEPTA Interim General Manager Scott Sauer. “These results are proof that what we are doing is working.”
According to the report, total crime on the system is 28% lower than the three year average preceding 2024. SEPTA has also reported its crackdown on fare evasion has led to hundreds of arrests of individuals wanted for other crimes.
“With additional police officers, we can take a data driven approach to fare evasion – evaluating officer interactions, camera footage, and station revenue to determine hot spots for fare evasion, deploy police officers, and remove offenders from the system,” SEPTA Transit Police Chief Charles Lawson explains.
SEPTA is reportedly installing more full-height fare gates that are designed to prevent fare evaders from jumping over or crawling under turnstiles.
For more information about SEPTA, or to read the Transit Police Report, visit septa.org
