PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Amid a rise in violent crime, SEPTA next week is launching a special deployment of its police officers on board the Broad Street and Market-Frankford Lines.
Aggravated assaults on SEPTA have increased for each of the last four years, from 46 in 2019 to 111 last year. Robberies have also increased over that span. Also in the last seven days, two people at SEPTA train stops have been stabbed — one fatally — while another has been shot.
“We’re concerned that crimes against persons are going up, and have gone up over a few years now,” said Lawson, who added there has also been a specific increase in crimes on board trains.
“We know that we have to find a way to get more cops on trains out there.”
He said starting next week, SEPTA is teaming up its police officers with its unarmed yellow-vested ambassadors to provide a more visible presence on trains.
Related
“We are attempting to flood trains with these teams to try to get over a larger portion of the system,” said Lawson.
“We’re going to make announcements when officers are on board the trains, so that our customers know that every time there’s a cop on a train, they hear about it. If they need someone, they know exactly where to go to get us.”
Having a fully-staffed force remains an issue. SEPTA is budgeted for 200 police officers, but only has 160 on duty. With ridership around 55% of pre-COVID-19 levels, there are fewer passengers to deter crime.
To attract more officers, SEPTA and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 109 agreed in June to raise the starting pay for new officers by about $12,500, about a 25% salary hike.
Related
Pennsylvania announced in December it will be providing SEPTA Police with $5 million in new funding.
Lawson acknowledges the perception by some that it’s not safe to ride the system. But he says societal issues including homelessness, mental health problems and drug use contribute to challenges that can’t be solved using policing tactics alone.