Tisch: More than 200 NYPD officers to be deployed throughout subway system
The announcement followed the release of the 2024 crime report that detailed a 5.4% drop in subway crime in 2024, compared to 2023.
More Stories
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced more than 200 NYPD officers will be deployed to subway platforms and trains this week.
The announcement followed the release of the 2024 crime report that detailed a 5.4% drop in subway crime in 2024, compared to 2023.
Despite the numbers being down citywide, the numbers in the Bronx told a different story. According to NYPD data, transit crime was up 8.1% in the borough compared to the previous year.
The new year has been off to a violent start, with at least two violent crimes reported on the subway system in the borough. It includes a man who was stabbed at the 138th Street and Third Avenue station on Sunday morning while on the 6 train platform and an MTA worker, who was off duty when he was stabbed multiple times at the Pelham Parkway 5 train station.
For people in the Bronx, walking through the turnstile has come with uncertainty.
"You never know when someone is going to try to push you, or hurt you, it's scary," said Elieen in Mott Haven, who rides the subway.
"I feel a bit nervous somebody got pushed into the tracks, I travel with my son on the train, when I take him to school, I get a little too protective I try to stay by the steps," said Jade, a Bronx mother who rides the subway daily.
Mayor Eric Adams says the numbers show that the city is doing a good job fighting crime, with transit crime down for the second year in a row.
"The average New Yorker would believe that they are living in a city that is out of control, that is not the reality," said Adams.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch says 78% of subway crimes occur on the platform and on train cars. She says a new strategy of deployment is to help subway riders feel safer while on public transit.
"Not in the mezzanines, not at the entrances. That's not to say that we won't have cops in the mezzanines and the entrances, but we need our cops assigned where the crime is occurring," said Tisch.
Tisch says more than 600 new NYPD officers begin the job on Tuesday and an additional 1,000 new recruits are expected to start the police academy later this month.
