In the last year crime on the subway—especially fancy gadget thefts—has been a serious concern for both the MTA and the NYPD. And so the NYPD has been pushing more Transit cops onto platforms and trains. And—with notable exceptions—it is starting to do something. Which is to say, more people are getting arrested.
According to NYPD Transit Bureau Chief Joseph Fox, this year through February 15 cops nabbed 109 robbers, up 15 percent from last year. Of those, 69 were charged with grand larceny, up 28 percent from last year (those gizmos are expensive!). Meanwhile, fare-beating arrests are also up—23 percent.
As part of the plan to combat subway crime the bureau has approved increased overtime so 320 officers can work extra four hour shifts to patrol platforms (in addition, 243 officers were added to the patrol in late January). Another way the NYPD are working to cut the crime? Constant video surveillance in Times Square and Penn Station (with more locations coming soon). Still, to the city's credit, crime underground is nowhere near as bad as it once was. As Fox notes, in 1990 there was an average of 47 felonies a day on the subway. Last year that number was six.
