SEPTA officials say increased enforcement efforts, aided by the agency's largest police force in over a decade, have significantly contributed to serious crimes like theft and aggravated assault remaining down after incidents skyrocketed during the COVID pandemic.
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During the first half of 2025, there were 367 serious crimes reported to SEPTA Transit Police, with reductions in the second quarter (164) compared with the first (203), according to agency data released Tuesday. This year's totals are comparable to figures from last year, when there was a record-breaking 33% year-to-year decrease. And the 711 serious crimes reported in 2024 was a drastic decline from the 1,236 in 2020.
While the agency has presented this week's report as a continuation of a positive trend, a $240 million budget deficit continues to loom over the SEPTA. A doomsday financial plan that would cut all services by nearly 50% and raise fares by over 20%, will go into effect in August if the Pennsylvania state legislature doesn't provide more funding to the agency.
"We are continuing to see great results from the SEPTA Transit Police Department, thanks to efforts to bolster staffing and the implementation of innovative enforcement strategies," SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer said in a statement. "Despite an imminent financial crisis that could result in massive service cuts, we will continue to support the critical work that our police force does to ensure SEPTA is safe and secure for customers and employees."
Despite financial shortfalls, the agency has remained committed to beefing up its police presence. During the first six months of 2025, officers issued 4,366 citations for fare evasion — a 74% increase compared with the first half of 2024, SEPTA said.
"When we increase our enforcement of fare evasion, we consistently see lower rates of crime and disorder on the system," SEPTA Transit Police Chief Chuck Lawson said. "We are committed to a three-pronged approach to combatting fare evasion through deterrence, enforcement and education."
Full-length fare gates have also helped prevent riders from circumventing the system, with SEPTA reporting a 20% reduction in fare evasion at stations where they have been installed. The agency will reportedly expand that program and continue to use internal data to deploy officers to hot spots of fare evasion.
Other quality-of-ride offenses like smoking and marijuana use were also more heavily enforced throughout the first half of 2025.