New York City Police Increase Subway Presence After Rise in Violent Incidents | Abroad

Although New York is generally considered relatively safe, the East Coast metropolis has been experiencing an increase in crime on public transport for some time. According to the American television channel CNN, the crime rate has increased by more than 40% compared to last year.

US media have reported several fatal shootings in the subway over the past year and people have also been pushed past a moving subway. Last week, a 15-year-old boy was shot dead, the eighth fatal shooting in New York City’s subway this year.

Most crimes are not of a violent nature, but concern, for example, theft. This does not take away from the fact that there is growing concern among the population. According to a study, only 50% of travelers say they always feel safe in the metro. Last month, Governor Hochul announced that additional cameras would be installed in all subway cabins over the next three years. There will also be an enhanced treatment program for people with serious mental illnesses.

“Obviously we have a lot of work to do,” New York’s transportation chief Richard Davey said after the 15-year-old boy was killed. “This must be stopped.”

However, critics fear that the new action plan will increase discrimination against population groups that are already disadvantaged anyway. In places where many people experience racism, distrust of the police is also particularly high.

A Queens councilor, Robert F. Holden, therefore called for fundamental reform of the criminal justice system. “Without a change in the law, the additional officers will arrest the same people again,” he said in an interview with The New York Times.