To combat crime, New York will send National Guard troops into the NYC subway system

NEW DELHI: On Wednesday, Governor Kathy Hochul unveiled a major security strengthening plan in reaction to a string of high-profile robberies and assaults in New York City’s subway system. As part of the plan, New York City police and 750 soldiers from the state’s National Guard will work together to perform bag inspections at the entrances to the busiest subway stations in the city.

In order to strengthen the campaign to discourage crime in the subway, Hochul has also requested the assistance of 250 police from the state-controlled Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police and the New York State Police. Following previous assaults on passengers and transportation workers, this news has alarmed both the public and the government.
In February 2023, there was a 15% drop in subway crimes compared to the same month the year before, but Democratic Governor Hochul stressed the psychological toll on commuters, saying, “Saying things are getting better doesn’t make you feel better, especially when you’ve just heard about someone being stabbed in the throat or thrown onto the subway tracks.”
In line with this idea, New York City Mayor Eric Adams—a former patrol officer—has already added around 1,000 more NYPD officers to the system in response to a spike in thefts and assaults in January. He emphasized how uncommon crime is on the subway, but he also acknowledged the public’s growing fear.
In response to these worries, Mayor Adams declared that the sometimes implemented bag checks—in which passengers are singled out by NYPD officers for searches at subway turnstiles—would be reinstated. The goal of this step is to discourage prospective criminals from bringing firearms on board the trains.
But there has been discussion over the National Guard’s deployment. Rather than assuring the public, Danny Pearlstein of Riders Alliance, a New York commuter advocacy organization, said that the military’s presence may exacerbate the appearance of criminality. He said that those who don’t often utilize public transportation could become even more afraid as a result of this decision.
According to crime data, there was a marginal decrease in thefts and robberies in the subway system in February, but there were the same amount of assaults as the same month last year. Nevertheless, the recent violent occurrences—which included a metro conductor being slashed—have sparked immediate response.
Additionally, Governor Hochul unveiled plans to install additional security cameras in conductor cabins to improve worker safety on the subway. She is also pushing for legislation to be passed by the state assembly that would give courts the authority to impose a three-year ban on the subway system for anybody found guilty of abusing employees or riders.
The New York Civil Liberties Union’s Executive Director, Donna Lieberman, is among many who have criticized Hochul’s approach, calling it a “unfortunate example of policymaking through overreaction and overreach.” She advocated for a balanced approach to public safety and issued a warning against going back to the “failed broken windows policies of the past”.
The discussion about the correct course of action is still ongoing as New York City struggles to uphold both public safety and people’ rights. The city intends to achieve a balance between deterrence and preserving a sense of normality in its public transportation system by putting these additional safeguards into place.