MBTA Crimes Drop in 2012

MBTA Transit Police Chief Paul MacMillan today released crime statistics for 2012. Part One, or serious crime as defined by the FBI, which includes homicide, rape, aggravated assaults, robbery, auto theft, burglary and arson, fell by more than 11% last year. The decrease in crime occurred as ridership on the MBTA has risen over the last year to more than 1.3 million passengers a day.

Violent crime, robbery, rape and aggravated assaults were down 6%. There were no homicides on the MBTA last year. The decrease in violent crime was attributed primarily to a 22% drop in robberies on the MBTA. In addition to the awareness campaigns reminding passengers to be mindful of their surroundings, the Transit Police increased high visibility patrols and continued to employ a point of entry policing strategy that aims to prevent offenders from entering the MBTA. The prosecution of offenders was also enhanced by the use of video cameras. Unfortunately, aggravated assaults increased. An analysis of these types of assaults did not reveal any pattern or trend. Most involved an interaction between passengers that escalated into an assault, Chief MacMillan said.

Property crimes, such as larceny or theft showed a 13% decrease. Once again, two-thirds of all serious crime on the MBTA involved non-violent property theft. The theft of bicycles increased and account for one-third of all larcenies. “While we have had success in decreasing overall theft, bicycles theft continues to be a concern for us”, Chief Paul MacMillan of the MBTA Transit Police stated. “We continue to conduct awareness campaigns and the MBTA continues to construct pedal and park areas to better secure bicycles. As more and more bicycles are used by our passengers, we will continue to focus on this issue”, he added.

Chief MacMillan further highlighted the dedicated work of the Transit Police Officers working in partnership with fellow MBTA employees, passengers, as well as community partners to ensure a safe environment of the riding public. Chief MacMillan reminds our passengers to report suspicious or unusual behavior through the See Something Say Something campaign.

More information on crime statistics can be found at www.mbta.com/transitpolice/crimestats