Governor Kathy Hochul is planning to increase the police presence in New York City’s subway system in response to a string of violent incidents, so as to curb the growing crime rate and reassure the public.
After meeting with Mayor Adams and the NYPD’s Chief of Transit, Hochul stated she will be announcing additional resources to fight transit-related crime.
“We will make people feel safe with more police on the subway station. Yes, people want to see that. They’ve been asking for it, we are going to give that,” Hochul said, as reported by ABC 7. “But there is also a lot involved in people dealing with mental health crises on the subway. When you talk to the chief of the transit police, he would tell you that 80% of the problems or more stem from that situation.”
The governor claims that among the measures being explored to improve the safety of the subway system are cameras in every conductor booth and cameras on every car before the end of the year.
Hochul made her remarks while investigators were working nonstop to identify the person(s) responsible for the brutal attack on a 68-year-old man at Penn Station. Authorities said that the victim fell onto the rails after being kicked from behind on Sunday. He was admitted to the hospital in stable condition after suffering injuries to his knee and back.
On Friday, a 27-year-old man had been stabbed on a subway train in a possible hate crime.
The most recent statistics, which were released on Monday, show that significant crimes on the transport system have increased by 13.1% overall.
Grand larcenies are up 17.8% and felonious assaults are up 15.5%. However, robberies have actually decreased by 1.1%. Police are detaining more than twice as many individuals for taking firearms onto the subway, despite the fact that there have been eight shooting victims so far this year compared to only one last year.
