Making the police ubiquitous on the subway is how Mayor Eric Adams intends to fight crime on public transportation.
Adams says that the number of uniformed officers will increase at the different stations, especially those with the highest crime reports, because some users continue to feel unsafe, especially as a result of the onset of the pandemic.
“The truth is, yes, I feel a little insecure, since there are many people who are crazy here, who get on the trains and I do not feel that there is much security,” said one user.
And in order not to neglect safety on the streets, the police will change their way of working. Now the patrol zones will include the ‘subway’ and some officers will have overtime to cover the hours of greater flow of people in the transport.
“Officers who are normally patrolling cars when they don’t have 911 assignments, when they don’t have calls, instead of being in the car waiting for what they are going to do, they are going to enter the system and patrol the train stations,” explained the police spokesman Carlos Nievees.
It should be remembered that the former mayor of Blasio had already increased the number of officers dedicated exclusively to public transport, which in May totaled 3,250, but even so the feeling of insecurity on the streets and on the subway grew.
The new mayor himself referred to this issue of the ‘perception’ that one has about safety in the subway.
“Real crime and the perception of crime lead to the crisis we face, but we cannot have public safety without justice,” Adams wrote in a message on social media referring to the new subway safety plan, which goes alongside other measures to deal with the problem of the homeless.
“We can better utilize our police force on our subway while mental health professionals work directly with those in crisis,” the message continues.
Actual crime and the perception of crime both lead to the crisis we’re facing, but we can’t have public safety without justice.
We can better utilize our police force on our subways while mental health professionals work directly with those in crisis.
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) January 7, 2022
And it is that the feeling that New Yorkers have of insecurity is also reflected in the statistics.
From 2019 to 2021 the number of shootings doubled, reaching 1,562 in the year.
At the public transport level, the number of reports of attacks on bystanders rose from 353 in 2020 to 457 in 2021.
“When I see an officer in the system, I feel safe,” Nieves added.
The police will also have to be friendlier and engage in dialogue with passengers.
“It can increase our confidence because there is always a certain fear towards the police and basically between us, the police and us, that is going to increase confidence and that is going to make one feel more secure,” said another user.
– .
