The surge in murders across a city’s subway system has raised concerns, with an alarming 60% increase so far this year compared to last year. Eight fatalities have been reported as of September 8th, up from five during the same period in 2023. This spike is approaching the 25-year high set in 2022, when there were ten murders on record. From 1997 to 2020, there had never been more than five subway murders per year according to NYPD data.
This rise in violence persists despite multiple initiatives aimed at reducing crime within the subway system, such as deploying additional NYPD officers and National Guard members to heavily-trafficked stations. Despite these efforts, total subway crime has only decreased by nearly 6%, with robberies down about 18% and felony assaults dropping by almost 5.
The NYPD credits their investigative work for the overall reduction in crime, stating that detectives have been thorough in looking into major crimes within the transit system. Furthermore, this year alone, officers deployed in the subway have removed a record number of weapons – 43 guns (up from 28 last year) and 1,536 knives (compared to 1,004 last year.
However, violent crime remains well above pre-pandemic levels, causing concern among straphangers about the safety of their daily commutes. One retiree, Vickie Reeves, expressed her fear while making a rare subway trip at the Times Square station, saying, “You don’t know if you’re going to make it home.
The persistence in murders has been attributed to factors such as a “worn out” police force and the loss of experienced transit officers due to resignations or retirements. Jakeba Dockery, whose husband was fatally shot on a 3 train in Brooklyn, says she no longer uses public transportation and instead relies on her car for errands and shuttling her daughter to basketball games.
Despite the increased police presence and efforts to address crime within the subway system, concerns remain about the safety of riders as they navigate their daily commutes through a city grappling with an increase in violent crimes.
