The New York City subway system saw major felony crimes increase more significantly than the overall transit system’s ridership through October 2022, according to preliminary statistics.
Major felonies were committed at a roughly 40.2% higher rate within the subway system from January through October 2022 compared to the same stretch in 2021, preliminary police statistics indicate. Ridership across New York City Transit’s subways, buses and alternative options went up by about 30.5%, based on data in the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s (MTA) October 2022 Financial and Ridership Reports.
Commuters ride the New York City Subway on November 5, 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic continues worldwide. DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images
Murders, rapes, robberies, felony assaults and grand larcenies all increased in the subway system during that period, while burglaries continued at the same rate. (RELATED: NYC Council Member Says Subway Violence Is ‘One-In-A-Million’ Event Despite Alleged Attack Occurring Days Earlier)
“The NYPD is now putting more officers on subway cars and on platforms, and so far this month it has resulted in a drop in crime,” MTA spokesperson Aaron Donovan told the New York Post.
Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan Oct. 22 to establish 1,200 new overtime police shifts daily for subway stations and trains and work toward growing New York State Office of Mental Health training for New York City first responders. They also announced a new task force to focus on public transit crime.
“Since the announcement by the Mayor and Police Commissioner on January 6th through November 6th, there have been over 430,000 Citywide trains runs and inspections by Transit officers and over 850,000 Citywide Subway station inspections by Transit and Patrol Officers,” the NYPD told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The added numbers of station inspections and train runs create an omnipresence that riders, at all hours, can see and feel as they make their way to school, work, or home.”
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