Gov. Kathy Hochul’s announcement Wednesday that New York would deploy the National Guard and the state police to check bags for weapons in the subway was certainly surprising. The move comes in the wake of an uptick in transit crime.
Yes, crime is up 13% year to date in the subway system, driven mostly by grand larceny, or theft without force. An example of such a crime would be someone having their pocket picked after falling asleep on the train. Crimes of this nature are not usually committed with a weapon — nor are the high-profile incidences of riders being pushed onto tracks. That calls into question the need for the National Guard to conduct bag searches at what will likely be a notable expense to taxpayers.
As reporter Caroline Spivack noted in a recent article, past surges of police in the subway have come at a cost: The NYPD went from spending $4 million on overtime pay for subway security in 2022 to $155 million in 2023. That money last year produced a 2% drop in major subway crimes, including murder, rape and robbery. There were 2,089 major crimes in the subway in 2023, reduced from 2,137 in 2022, NYPD data shows.
No one would argue that security in the subway is a bad thing, especially late at night. But this level of heightened vigilance seems like a vast overreaction. Calling in the National Guard sends a message that the subway system is an unsafe, unsavory place to be, and the transit system should be avoided at all costs. Is that the correct message to be sending riders as the MTA looks to fully rebound from the pandemic and serve as an attractive option to get drivers to give up their cars?
Mayor Eric Adams is also taking a very “tough on crime” posture with the subways, recently ramping up the NYPD’s presence with 1,000 additional officers assigned to patrol the system. The governor’s recent move seems to be an elevation of this tack. But both leaders would do well to remember that there can be too much of a good thing. A few officers patrolling a local station can make the riders there feel safe. A platoon of officers and National Guardsmen can make those same riders feel as if they are in a warzone.
Conversely, rather than spotlighting Adams and Hochul as cracking down on crime, such extreme measures can actually send the message that the wardens have lost control of the jail, so to speak.
As Danny Pearlstein, spokesman for the Riders Alliance, a group that advocates for subway and bus riders, put it: “Deploying troops to subway entrances will more likely increase the perception of crime among people who don’t ride public transit than protect the millions of riders and workers on platforms and trains each day.”
Added Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union: “A sweeping surveillance state and biased broken-windows policing won’t deliver security.”
Addressing increases in subway crime is essential so that New Yorkers can get to and from work and home safely. But scare tactics that could keep New Yorkers out of the subway — or make them feel afraid while using it — are not the right way forward. Our state and city leaders can still be tough on crime while taking a measured, thoughtful approach.
The Editors , 2024-03-08 18:54:33
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