New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and recently sworn in New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) announced an increase in police presence on the subway system as crime ravages the city.

Adams and Hochul appeared together at a press conference to make the announcement.

“The omnipresence is the key,” said Adams. “People feel as though the system is not safe because they don’t see their officers.”

Adams is correct when he says New Yorkers no longer feel safe on the subway system. Nine-tenths of subway riders who have not returned to trains since the pandemic say it is because of crime and harassment in the system, according to a transportation authority survey. However, nearly two-thirds of riders who returned claimed police presence makes them feel safer.

Subway riders are rightfully afraid for their safety. There were six reported murders in the subway system through the end of November 2021, double the three murders reported in 2019, the year before the pandemic.

Additionally, recent New York Police Department (NYPD) data showed crime increased to levels not seen in five years. According to Fox News, “the number of murders, robberies, felony assaults, burglaries, grand larcenies, and grand larceny auto thefts topped 100,000 for the first time since 2016.”

According to the New York Times:

The rate of felony assaults in 2021 was up about 200 percent through November compared with the same period in 2019. The rate was up about 125 percent for robberies, about 15 percent for grand larcenies — thefts committed without use or threat of force — and about 65 percent for major felonies overall. The total number of felony assaults, in fact, was higher in 2021 than in 2019 despite the drop in ridership.

 

NY Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams hold a press conference at the Fulton Street Station January 6, 2022, to announce new state-funded “Safe Options Support Teams.” (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

However, with racial tensions increasing between police and minority communities, some residents do not embrace the increased police presence. City University of New York student Cariahnna Collazo told the Times, “I don’t feel unsafe, and I don’t necessarily know if people want more of a police presence.” “The people I know personally feel like when there’s more police on the train they are more uptight,” she added.

The mayor said that there would be no new hires. Instead, NYPD will redeploy police officers with desk jobs into the subway system.

Adams and Hochul also announced a plan to create teams of eight to ten social workers and medical professionals to aid the city’s increasing homeless population.

“This new plan also frees up our officers to focus on crime, and not be the street sweepers, sweeping men and women who are homeless off our system,” Adams said. “We need to be clear here: We will not allow our police officers to have unnecessary engagement with homeless individuals and those petty issues that will cause negative encounters with riders.”