Riding the Train: Another Orange Line Stabbing at Back Bay

The reports are just rolling off the presses as details are released but it seems that two individuals were involved in an altercation that ended up with a stabbing on one of the Orange Line trains as it was in Back Bay Station. Riders were shuttled from New England Medical to Mass Ave and Back Bay Station remained closed for almost two hours as the investigation into the incident was conducted. It's the second stabbing at the generally tame though high traffic Back Bay stop on the T within the last month (last one on Feb. 19). It's not long before the folks at Simon Mall take the Back Bay stop off their "convenient access" listing as it's soon to gain some notoriety.

Today's incident comes as the T has been patting themselves on the back for all of their really great detective work and the functioning cameras. They've caught a retired embezzler with $40,000 worth of tokens and change he stole from the MBTA. They caught a band of teenagers who had been harassing people on the Orange Line for months, using their cameras in conjunction with myspace as a detective tool. And they just keep saying how well these cameras are working to catch criminals. What they've got may, in fact, be a fairly good system for catching criminals after the crime has been committed. Transit riders won't be satisfied when crime is still happening, even if the crimes are being solved. Feeling safe in the moment while a rider is in the station, or on the train, is the important part of policing. The eye in the sky camera is a helpful tool for solving crimes, but it is not a replacement for MBTA cops working a beat. We've only once ever seen T cops toss anyone from a train – and he was a kid just screwing around.

Image of a near empty Orange Line car from Flickr user Mike Burns