Violent subway attacks from this weekend happened at a time when MTA officials are trying to get more people to ride in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and when NYPD officers are more active in the subway than in recent years.
On Sunday, a man was suspected of slashing three women in the leg in unprovoked attacks across two stations along the Lexington Avenue line in Manhattan.
What You Need To Know
- A man allegedly slashed three women in separate, unprovoked attacks at two stations on the Lexington Avenue subway line in Manhattan
- Two men on a J train in Brooklyn got into an argument and one man stabbed the other man, who survived
- The NYPD says that since last fall, they have increased the number of police patrols in the subway system
Earlier that Sunday, an argument between two men on a J train around Myrtle Avenue ended with one stabbing the other, who survived.
Since the fall, the NYPD has sent more officers into the subway system on overtime shifts.
"It's great to see them down there and I thank them whenever I see them, but I would like to see more, and I would like them more strategically placed," said Andrew Albert, an MTA board member.
This year, officers are making more arrests and writing more summonses for subway violations, including fare evasion.
Through June 11 of this year, 958 transit crimes have been reported, NYPD data shows. Last year, during the same time period, 1,040 transit crimes were reported.
"Arrests are up quite a bit. Summonses are up quite a bit, and I think those two things, those enforcement efforts, are one of the big reasons I think we're kind of enjoying these lower crime numbers," said Christopher Herrmann, an associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Still, murders in the subway system are happening with more frequency since the COVID-19 pandemic than before it. So far this year, there have been six murders in the subway system, while there were just three in all of 2019.
In a call with reporters, NYPD Transit Bureau Chief Michael Kemper said it was a challenging weekend for transit cops, but noted these attacks were highly unusual.
"The cops assigned to police the subway system, they're 100% committed to working hard. Their goal is to prevent crimes from happening," Kemper said.
City Councilman Robert Holden, a conservative Democrat from Queens who is a member of the Committee on Public Safety, says the NYPD should be hiring more officers and increasing patrols underground.
"We have to start enforcing all the laws, especially turnstile jumping because that seemed to work when we focused on that in the '90s," Holden said.