Transit crimes are rare. So why is the National Guard in the NYC subway?
| New York
Fear of crime on subways and buses is back as a top concern in some U.S. cities, and so are efforts to persuade public officials to take the issue seriously.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said March 6 she would聽task 750 members of the National Guard聽with helping patrol the nation鈥檚 busiest subway system, saying she felt New York City police need reinforcements after a shooting on a train platform and a conductor getting slashed in the neck.
Pennsylvania legislators created a聽special prosecutor聽to go after crimes committed in the transit system that serves the southeast of the state. In Philadelphia, where a spate of聽transit-related shootings聽left three dead and 12 wounded, many of them high schoolers, Mayor Cherelle Parker also promised March 7 to聽beef up police patrols.
鈥淓nough is enough,鈥� she said聽on WURD radio.
It remains to be seen whether such moves will have any effect on reducing crime in these massive public transit systems.
Ms. Hochul acknowledged that calling in the National Guard was as much about soothing fears and making a political statement as it was about making mass transit safer. The city鈥檚 subways were already safe, the Democrat reasoned, but a show of force might help dispel anxieties more than any statistic.
鈥淚f you feel better walking past someone in a uniform to make sure that someone doesn鈥檛 bring a knife or a gun on the subway, then that鈥檚 exactly why I did it,鈥� Ms. Hochul said March 7聽on MSNBC. 鈥淚 want to change the psychology around crime in New York City.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 also going to demonstrate that Democrats fight crime as well,鈥� she added. 鈥淪o this narrative that Republicans have said that we鈥檙e soft on crime, that we defund the police? No.鈥�
Major crimes in the New York City transit system dropped nearly 3% from 2022 to 2023, with five killings last year, down from 10 the year prior, according to police. Overall, violent crime in the subway system is rare, with train cars and stations being generally as safe as any other public place.
In Pennsylvania, overall crime聽has declined聽in recent years on the regional transit system, though there were six killings in 2023, up from a total of seven during the previous three years.
Still, the issue of safety on buses and trains is one that keeps resonating with voters 鈥� particularly as some systems recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, when passengers stayed away.
鈥淩ecently it鈥檚 been a little unsafe. So I think they should control it before it gets out of hand,鈥� said Alan Uloa, a New York resident. 鈥淭he other day they slashed the conductor, and that鈥檚 not cool.鈥�
New York Republicans hammered Democrats on crime during the 2022 midterms, a message that helped the GOP capture suburban congressional seats.
But heightened law enforcement presence can be a double-edged sword, said Alex Piquero, a criminology professor at the University of Miami and the former director of the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics.
鈥淔or some people, they鈥檇 like to see the added security,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd for other people, they鈥檒l say we鈥檙e overreacting.鈥�
The political tough talk can also gloss over the reality that transit crime accounts for just a tiny percentage of all crime, said Vincent Del Castillo, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a former chief of New York City鈥檚 transit police.
鈥淵ou can have 10 to 12 murders in the system when there are literally hundreds across the city,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut because it鈥檚 so rare, it gets a lot of attention.鈥�
The four shootings linked to Philadelphia鈥檚 bus system began March 3, when a man was killed by another passenger shortly after they got off a bus.
Two more bus-related shootings in the next two days left two more dead and four injured. Then on March 6 eight teenagers waiting to take a city bus home after school were shot, leaving a bus riddled with bullet holes.
Charles Lawson, chief of the city鈥檚 transit police, vowed that officers will take an aggressive approach, using 鈥渆very criminal code on the book鈥� to crack down on crime.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to target individuals concealing their identity,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to target fare evasion. We鈥檙e going to target open drug use.鈥�
The Guard troops in New York won鈥檛 be that active. Instead they have been tasked with helping police conduct random searches of bags, a practice in place for nearly two decades. Passengers have the right to refuse such searches, though if they do they are asked to leave the subway system.
Guard troops can鈥檛 make arrests, but if they witness a crime, they can detain someone until police arrive, just as any civilian can do.
The troops were deployed March 7, but transit riders might not have noticed as they weren鈥檛 widely visible at stations or in trains. Some were seen patrolling major hubs, including Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station, where they have been a regular presence since the terror attacks of Sept. 11 , 2001.
Riders have long been split over bag checks, which are infrequent but can hold people up as they race for a train. Searches have also long been a subject of concerns over racial profiling, though the NYPD says it takes steps to avoid that.
鈥淪ometimes when I鈥檓 in a hurry and I have a bag, I don鈥檛 like to be stopped,鈥� said Jerome Brooks Jr., an actor and musician. 鈥淪o then I try to see, do they stop me if they鈥檙e going to stop somebody else that doesn鈥檛 look like me?鈥�
Cheryl Ann Harper said she welcomed the precaution.
鈥淲e need it,鈥� she said, noting that similar checks are common at theaters. 鈥淚 do it all the time. Not a big deal. If you don鈥檛 have anything to hide, why you can鈥檛 open up your bag?鈥�
This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP reporters Anthony Izaguirre and Michael Hill in Albany, Ted Shaffrey and Michael Sisak in New York City, Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia, and Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, contributed.
