On Friday, New York City’s governor, Kathy Hochul, and mayor, Eric Adams, said that crime has decreased on the subway system since October, when a new safety campaign began.
At a press conference in Manhattan, Mayor Hochul and Police Commissioner Adams reported that the number of major crimes committed on the underground system had decreased by 16 percent between October 25 and January 22. As far as that tendency maintains, Ms. Hochul added, “we can feel better about it.”
According to Christopher Hermann, an assistant professor from John Jay University of Criminal Justice, “they can certainly congratulate ourselves on the back again a couple of months of positive numbers.” But it looks like we’ll have to wait to find out how the year pans out.
Authorities In The Field Of Criminal Justice Have Repeated The Governor’s Measured Approach
More cops were sent to the tube in October after the mayor the governor stated they wanted to counter the public’s perception, fueled by a slew of high-profile incidents, that the tube had become significantly more dangerous.
On Friday, a spokesperson for Ms Hochul announced that the state will contribute up to $62 m to assist in helping the city pay for the hundreds of extra overtime hours each day required of law enforcement personnel to patrol the tube.
She also revealed, together with other officials, plans to place cameras in every railway car. These changes were made as Mr. Adams intensified his efforts towards the end of last year to rid the city of its homeless population.
A spike in terrorism on a key transportation corridor prompted the new anti-crime actions. Last year, there were 10 murders on the tube, but in the 5 years before to the outbreak, there was an annual average of two.
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At least one person has been killed on the subway this year; one man is being charged with manslaughter after another man they were fighting with slid onto the rails at quite a Nyc subway station and was killed.
Although gunshots and homicides fell, mirroring national trends, the city as a whole had a 22% increase in big crime last year comparing with 2021-22.
Several officials have argued it is unclear what amounts the municipality and the state are spending on safety in response to Ms. Hochul & Mr. Adams’ publication of crime data.
In a joint statement, Councilwomen Selvena N. Adams and Kamillah Hanks said, “There are outstanding questions regarding the overall cost of this project and we will be closely assessing the state & mayor’s suggested expenditure plans inside the coming weeks.”
The committee on infrastructure and transit is headed by Ms. Bennett, while the panel on public safety is headed by Ms. Hanks.
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Crime Issues On The Tube Have Spread To Other Public Transit Systems
The statement on Friday followed Mr. Adams’s second city-wide address, which was given the day before. The mayor, who used to be a police captain, promised during his speech that public safety will remain a major priority. Mr. Adams claimed he was responding to a “recidivism epidemic” by focusing on 1,700 violent repeat offenders.
The likelihood of becoming a victim of violent criminal act in the underground is low, according to a New York Times assessment of Metro Transit Authority as well as police statistics published in November.
This is despite the fact that the rate of crimes such as murder, rape, felony assault, and robbery has more than trebled since 2019. Being hurt in a car accident every two miles is roughly comparable to the average of 1.2 violent offences per million tube rides, according to the study.
Yet, many New Yorkers have been left shaken by the recent spate of high-profile pushes, stabbings, and killings on train and in stations, leading some to avoid using the system altogether.
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Veterinarian Clara Cisneros said she felt safer seeing the more police on her daily trip from Central Brooklyn to his job in Nyc.
Mrs. Cisneros, who is 29, has a heightened awareness of the people around her. “You can never tell.”
Book editor and 27-year-old Brooklyn resident Michelle Zeng suggested that, rather than increasing police funding, the government instead invest in improved tube service that is more accessible to persons with disabilities.
“Public safety has become quite political,” Ms. Zeng remarked. It’s very irritating to me. I’d rather see that money used into mending the tube.
Riders Alliance spokesman Danny Pearlstein agreed with Ms. Zeng that increased service frequency would make passengers feel safer and better their lives.
Even with existing rules in place, “trains and buses arriving each 15 or 20 mins doesn’t really make us safer,” Mr. Pearlstein said.
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Conclusion
Approximately 65% of pre-pandemic ridership persists, with many no longer using the system due to fears for their personal safety. Nonetheless, the authority stated that from the beginning to the end of 2022, ridership is up 39 % compared to the same time in 2021.
