Reported crime on SEPTA continues to drop in 2026 after decade lows last year

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SEPTA is reporting another significant drop in crime across its network, including a 42% drop on the Market-Frankford Line during the first quarter of 2026, after reporting 10-year lows last year.

According to the agency’s first-quarter crime report, SEPTA Transit Police reported a 30% reduction in serious crimes from January to March compared to the same period last year, including double-digit reductions in five serious crime categories such as aggravated assaults and robberies.

“Since peaking during the pandemic, crime across the system has consistently declined,” SEPTA General Manager Scott Sauer said in a statement. “This progress is the result of a comprehensive approach that combines increased staffing, targeted enforcement, investments in modern technology, and improvements to station and vehicle infrastructure.”

Reported fare evasion has dropped 10% so far this year. Efforts to tackle fare evasion have increased since SEPTA reported losing roughly $30 million to fare evasion in 2024. That same year, SEPTA installed its first full-length fare gate at 69th Street Station. Similar gates are now installed at the Somerset, Huntingdon, Cecil B. Moore, 11th Street, 13th Street, Frankford Transit Center, Allegheny, 52nd Street and City Hall stations.

“We are building on that progress in 2026 and pursuing additional strategies to strengthen fare compliance, including modifications to legacy turnstiles,” SEPTA Transit Police Chief Charles Lawson said in a statement.

SEPTA’s police force is also at its highest staffing levels in more than a decade, having sworn in 232 officers in the first quarter.

No murders were reported in the first quarter, and along with the drop in crime on the MFL, the Broad Street Line also saw a 19% decrease.

Earlier this month, SEPTA unveiled its $2.7 billion budget proposal to begin purchasing roughly 250 new hybrid buses and invest in its aging infrastructure. The agency will hold multiple public hearings for people to learn about or weigh in on the budget from May 11 to 13.