The Big Apple may finally be turning around as subway crime plummeted to levels not seen in decades other than the height of the pandemic.
The New York Police Department announced Tuesday that crime on the subway is down 21.5 percent from the same period last year, after Mayor Eric Adams ordered more police officers to patrol the subway system. .
In the first nine weeks of 2023 alone, authorities say, police handed out nearly 10,000 more citations than early last year.
All serious crime categories are now down, except for robberies, which are flat with two reported so far this year.
Those are the lowest levels of serious crime on the subway dating back to the start of the Compstat data collection system in the mid-1990s, the New York Post reports, excluding the start of 2021 when the COVID pandemic hit.
“Obviously crime is down, we’re proud,” transit chief Michael Kemper said at a news conference Tuesday. ‘This is real progress.’
He credited proactive policing in petty crimes as well as serious crimes.
Data released by the NYPD shows that police officers issued 75.6% more fare evasion tickets during the first nine weeks of 2023, totaling 21,360 compared to 12,154 tickets issued during the first nine weeks of 2023. same period last year.
In total, all citations increased by more than 12,000, or an 83.5 percent increase over the same period last year.
“I want to be clear, and I must give credit where credit is due: This is a direct result of the men and women of the NYPD, and I think there is a lot going on in increasing police presence to deter crime,” he said. Kemper. .
“But focusing on quality of life, whether it’s fare evasion, disorderly conduct, smoking, just setting the tone for law and order in the subway system is absolutely part of the reason.”
He also cited the ‘phenomenal detective work’ of officers catching criminals before they can commit repeat offenses, saying much of the recent progress was due to increased police presence by Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul. on metro systems in October.
Before that, crime was up more than 40 percent for the year.
Under Mayor Eric Adams’ “subway safety plan,” more than 1,000 additional police officers were patrolling the transit system. The mayor is seen here in November with officers Taufique Bokth and Brunel Victor after you saved the life of a man who collapsed on the subway tracks.
The New York Police Department increased officer presence by approximately 1,200 additional officer shifts on overtime each day
In January 2022, Adams said publicly that he did not feel safe riding the subway when he unveiled his “subway safety plan,” which put more than 1,000 additional police officers a day on the city’s subways.
And for his part, Hochul announced in September an initiative to install two cameras in each subway car by 2024.
He also said the city would receive a “significant” investment from the state’s emergency fund next month to support an increase of about 1,200 officer shifts overtime on subway and train platforms each day.
In addition, the governor said, the transit authority would employ unarmed security guards at turnstiles to increase security presence and deter fare evasion.
“We have a crime-fighting strategy,” he told a news conference in October.
“We have built on proven law enforcement strategies, investing in new technologies that will make a difference,” Hochul said. “And we’re giving New Yorkers the support and help they need.”