New SEPTA quarterly report shows crime continues to drop

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) Transit Police reported a 6% reduction in serious crimes in its system in 2025 compared to 2024—including a 33% reduction in gun violence—in its final quarterly report of 2025.

According to the new quarterly data, the system saw reductions in seven of the eight serious crime categories, including aggravated assaults and thefts. The agency notes that serious crime dropped across SEPTA’s four largest modes, including the Market-Frankford Line [L], Broad Street Line [B], bus and regional rail.

SEPTA says that crime has reached its lowest level since at least 2015, and that 2025 marked the second straight year in which totals fell below pre-pandemic levels.

“While 2025 was one of the most challenging years in SEPTA’s history, we stayed focused on delivering improvements to the system, especially when it comes to safety,” said SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer. “Since its peak during the pandemic, crime has continued to decline year after year, thanks to the expansion of the transit police force, technology and infrastructure improvements and other safety and security initiatives.”

The agency says that the transit police are continuing to prioritize fare evasion with enforcement up by 48% compared to the previous year, while quality of life enforcement increased by 12%. SEPTA also notes that it is on track to install more than 200 full-height fare gates at 14 stations by this summer.

“With 250 uniformed officers, our transit police staffing is at its highest level in over a decade, and another 17 cadets started police academy earlier this month,” said SEPTA Transit Police Chief Charles Lawson. “Our customers see officers as soon as they enter the system, and that increased police presence helps deter people from committing crimes.”