NYC Transit Crime Increases by 30% in First Week of the Subway Safety Plan

By Yehudit Garmaise

Mayor Eric Adams said that the Subway Safety Plan that he launched Monday, Feb. 21., would take time to show results, however, instead of showing an initial decrease, crime on the subway is on the rise. 

Major transit crimes rose by 30% last week, NYPD data shows.

Compstat recorded last week that, on the subway, the number of major crimes was 55: compared to 42 crimes the same week in 2021, and just 18 crimes that week in 2020.

Just last week, the headlines regarding public transit showed a particularly alarming and disturbing turn, after one perpetrator in the subway used a hammer to brutally beat one woman in the head, another woman was assaulted with bag of filth to her face, and several passengers were stabbed and shot.

NYPD said enforcement has dramatically increased: with arrests up 64%, and criminal summons up nearly 10%.

However, NYC criminals sadly kept pace with increased policing efforts. While felony assaults nearly doubled, and misdemeanor assaults more than doubled, NBC New York reported.

Last Monday, the mayor launched his daunting task to send teams of cops, social workers, and homeless outreach workers to subway stations to reduce crime and relocate people who are homeless: a process that will take considerable time and effort.