Subway crime in New York City dropped by over 20% in March compared to the previous year due to an increased police presence, officials said Wednesday.
City officials sent 1,000 officers out to patrol the subway, with an additional 800 recently joining them, after a series of shootings and assaults, resulting in a 23.5% decrease in crime for the month, according to a New York Police Department (NYPD) press release. The New York Transit Adjudication Bureau also saw an increase in summonses, going from 38,082 in 2023 to 48,771 this year. (RELATED: ‘That’s Not Gonna Work On Me’: Eric Adams Interview Goes Off The Rails During Debate On NYC Cop’s Murder)
“There cannot be a sense of lawlessness in the subway system, and it begins at the turnstiles,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said, according to ABC New York, a local media outlet. “It is highly encouraging to see the tangible results of our hard work – the investment we are making is clearly paying dividends. We vow to maintain our tight focus on the drivers of crime in order to improve transportation safety – and perceptions of safety – at every station, on every train, at all hours of the day and night.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 31: A police vehicle sits in Times Square on January 31, 2024, in New York City. New York City’s City Council voted to pass a bill, over the objections of Mayor Eric Adams, that would require police officers to document basic information into a phone app following an incident. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Crimes in the transit system between January 1 and March 1, however, did not show a significant drop in crime, only 1.1% with a total of 538 incidents, according to the press release. Robbery dropped off by half, felony assault by 11% and grand larceny by 15% year-over-year, while the number of overall arrests up by 53% since the beginning of the year.
The city saw an increase in gun arrests in the subway, 22 versus 12 from the previous year, and 1,864 arrests for fare evasion compared to 1,038, according to the press release. NYPD also seized 450 weapons in the subway system, 21 being illegal firearms, as of March 28, compared to just 261 last year during the same time frame last year, according to NBC New York.
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed the National Guard to curb rising crime on the New York transit system. Democratic Mayor Eric Adams also announced in late March that the city planned to implement a weapons scanner system in the subways after a 90-day waiting period.
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