Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Transit Police

Infobox Police Department
name = SEPTA Transit Police

motto =
established = 1981
sworn = 260
jurisdiction =
stations =
helicopters =
policeboats =
commissioner =
chief =
website = [http://www.septa.org/inside/safety/transit_police.html SEPTA Transit Police]

SEPTA Transit Police is an American law enforcement agency which is responsible for policing the mass transit system that is operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the adjacent suburban counties of Delaware, Montgomery, Chester, and Bucks in Pennsylvania. SEPTA also operates transit routes that extend into the states of New Jersey and Delaware. The SEPTA Transit Police Department was created in 1981 by the Pennsylvania General Assembly (the state legislature) to more adequately deal with crimes occurring on and around its property. Although the Philadelphia Police Department maintained a transit unit with officers assigned to patrol in the subway concourses, these officers were primarily located in the center city (downtown) area. It was determined that by creating its own dedicated police force, SEPTA would be able to deal more directly with rising crime throughout its system. Another reason for determining that SEPTA needed its own police force, was due to the fact that the portable radios the city's police officers used did not always operate properly in the subway tunnels. As a result, they could not be depended on if an officer had to chase a suspect through the tunnel area, or otherwise needed assistance. This problem still exists today, although recent efforts have been made to address the issue.

SEPTA Transit Police officers attend the Philadelphia Police Academy, and receive the same training as their municipal counterparts. They are commissioned by the governor of Pennsylvania, are armed, and exercise the same authority as a Philadelphia Police officer while on or around SEPTA property in Phila.. They also have enforcement authority elsewhere in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania while in the pursuit of official transportation authority business. The SEPTA police department has been able to reduce serious crime on its system by 90 percent, since 1990, when it implemented a zone policing strategy, where officers are permanently assigned to specific 'zones' throughout the subway system.

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority Transit Police, 1 officer has died in the line of duty. [ [http://odmp.org/agency/3617-septa-transit-police-department-pennsylvania The Officer Down Memorial Page] ]

ee also

* List of law enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania

References

External links

* [http://www.septa.org/inside/safety/transit_police.html SEPTA Transit Police]