SEPTA swears in new transit police officers amid budget woes and ongoing safety concerns

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SEPTA swore in more than a dozen new transit police officers Monday amid a multimillion-dollar budget deficit and persistent safety concerns.

The 13 new officers took the oath at SEPTA headquarters, vowing not to discriminate against people and to uphold the law on Philadelphia’s buses, trains and trolleys. The transit police force now has 192 officers — about 95% of its budgeted staffing levels.

SEPTA Police Chief Chuck Lawson said they have cause-and-effect proof that the more police they put out on the system, the safer it becomes.

“As our complement has grown, crime has been coming down. So as long as we continue to evidence the results of growth, we’ll keep doing it,” he said.

Lawson believes SEPTA, which faces stark criticism from Republicans in Harrisburg over safety, will continue to hire through the transit agency’s budget crisis.

“Being held accountable is fine,” Lawson said. “We want to show the Republicans that you have a good reason to trust us and fund us in the future. We’re not going to be dismissive of that money, we’re being good stewards.”

Lawson said he believes the transit agency has worked hard to ensure the money spent on safety and security is spent efficiently and effectively.

“Budget restrictions notwithstanding, one of the things that we’ve shown is they’re not skimping on security,” he said.

The new police officers make $67,000 annually, about the same as rookie Philadelphia police officers.

General Manager Scott Sauer said “safety and security” is SEPTA’s top priority.

“Having a strong police presence — a strong police force. We are among the few transit agencies who have their own police, and we want to use it to our advantage,” Sauer said, congratulating the new officers.

Sauer said he’s “concerned” SEPTA still hasn’t received funding from the Pennsylvania Legislature to pay for more police officers, but is hopeful the state will find the funding to keep running the system at current staffing levels.