Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that hundreds of National Guard soldiers will be sent to execute bag inspections in New York City’s subway system.
The deployment is a component of Hochul’s five-point subway safety plan, which was unveiled on Wednesday in an effort to improve public views of safety in the MTA’s transport network following a string of high-profile attacks and murders.
The “busiest transit stations” in the system will see bag inspections conducted by about 750 National Guard soldiers, 250 state police, and 250 MTA police, according to Hochul.
“My five-point plan will rid our subways of violent offenders and protect all commuters and transit workers,” Hochul said. “I am sending a message to all New Yorkers: I will not stop working to keep you safe and restore your peace of mind whenever you walk through those turnstiles.”
Additionally, Hochul unveiled a plan to bar anybody found guilty of assault on transport from the system for a period of three years.
The deployment of about one thousand National Guard and police personnel aligns with Mayor Eric Adams’ declaration on Tuesday regarding the reinstatement of bag inspections by NYPD officers.
The NYPD is battling a 16% increase in attacks at city trains and subway stops.
There have been 97 attacks on the city’s subway system as of Sunday, which is 13 more than there were at this same point last year. According to police, in the first two months of the year, there were three killings on the city’s subway system.
However, a number of the attacks that have occurred in the subway stations have involved no weapons at all, as in the latest, when a 68-year-old man was kicked in the back and onto the train tracks. It is not clear how bag inspections could help stem such motiveless and unpredictable crimes, frequently committed by mentally ill people.
