COLUMBUS CIRCLE, Manhattan (PIX11) — After a troubling surge in 2022, crime in the New York City subway system has dropped significantly in recent months, according to the NYPD.
Major crimes in the system dropped by 9.1% in February, department statistics show, part of a larger 19.4% decline so far in 2023. The overall number of people being victimized, meanwhile, has decreased by about a fifth, shaking out to about five crimes per day among some 3 million riders, officials say.
Department leaders credit an increase of about 1,200 officers in the system and targeted enforcement strategies, including on fare evasion, which has seen busts triple.
Meanwhile, an MTA survey of riders conducted in February saw customers more at ease with riding the rails. Overall satisfaction with safety and security on trains ticked up by 2%, while the same metric in stations increased by 1%. Both now sit at 62% overall.
Though the results to this point are encouraging, the NYPD and MTA have signaled they will maintain the efforts in order to put passengers at ease as ridership continues its post-pandemic rebound.
