MBTA: Serious Crime Down, Bike Thefts Up

Crime is mostly down on the MBTA with a few exceptions, according to figures released Tuesday.

Serious crime—as defined by the FBI as homicide, rape, aggravated assaults, robbery, auto theft, burglary and arson—went down 11 percent in 2012, MBTA Transit Police Chief Paul MacMillan said in a statement.

Violent crime, which includes robbery, rape and aggravated assaults, was down 6 percent and there were no homicides on the MBTA last year.

There was also a 22 percent drop in robberies, and property crimes, including larceny and theft, went down 13 percent, according to the figures.

Aggravated assaults increased over the period, but MacMillan said an analysis of these incidents revealed no pattern.

According to the figures, two-thirds of all serious MBTA crime is non-violent property theft, and one-third of property theft involves stealing of bicycles.

“While we have had success in decreasing overall theft, bicycle theft continues to be a concern for us," MacMillan said in the statement. “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.”

Over this period, ridership increased to over 1.3 million passengers per day, according to the statement.

Overall, crime was down from 2011 to 2012 at Charlestown's Sullivan Square Station on the T's Orange Line but up at the Community College stop. According to the MBTA report, there were 19 serious crime incidents at Sullivan Square in 2011 and 14 in 2012. Four serious cimes were reported at Community College in 2011, versus four in 2012.

The total breakdown for both Charlestown locations is as follows: