PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — SEPTA is touting a 33% decrease in serious crimes like assaults and robberies last year. The chief of SEPTA Transit Police says he believes it is directly affected by an increase in the number of officers and a dedicated effort to improve the rider experience.
“Recruitment has really enabled us to add pieces that are contributing significantly to crime reduction,” said SEPTA Transit Police Chief Charles Lawton.
Lawton says, with 248 officers, the police department is at its largest in a decade. He says there is a correlation between hiring more transit officers and a decline in crime on the transit system.
“We've had a really effective year — the culmination of, really, two years of strong staffing, strong recruitment. We got more cops out in the field than we've had in probably eight years, and that's enabled us to get pretty creative with deployment and some key additions.”
SEPTA says there were 350 fewer reported incidents in 2024 than in 2023. There are still incidents that grab attention — like the triple shooting on a bus in October and several shootings involving teens at bus stops in the city. But shooting incidents on the system are down 25%. Bus crime alone is down 9%.
“We look at a lot of data to deploy our police,” Lawton said. He points to “hot spot” policing as an example of the creative deployment he mentioned. Transit police created a unit that polices buses specifically and a dedicated patrolling district in Center City.
“Our data at the end of the year shows that crime at those stations is down 40% compared to the previous year.”
Lawton said SEPTA is also focused on keeping the system cleaner with a larger maintenance workforce, and a culture of safety is building across all SEPTA departments.
“Throughout SEPTA, they're reporting more things. They feel comfortable with the folks they're working with in the police department. We think all of that is having an impact in crime reduction.”