6 March 2024
NEW YORK (WPIX) — Hundreds of New York National Guard members will be heading to the New York City subway system, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday. That’s just one part of a series of changes coming to the city’s trains after a string of high-profile crimes across the New York City subway system — including two back-to-back shootings that killed two people in the Bronx and a slashing in Brooklyn.
Hochul, a Democrat, said she will deploy 750 members of the National Guard to the subways to assist the New York Police Department with bag searches at entrances to busy train stations.
“For people who are thinking about bringing a gun or knife on the subway, at least this creates a deterrent effect. They might be thinking, ‘You know what, it just may just not be worth it because I listened to the mayor and I listened to the governor, and they have a lot more people who are going to be checking my bags,'” Hochul said at a news conference.
The deployment of the National Guard would bolster an enhanced presence of NYPD officers in the subway system. The governor said she will also send 250 state troopers and police officers from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a state agency, to help with the bag searches.
Police in New York have long conducted random bag checks at subway entrances, though passengers are free to refuse and leave the station, raising questions of whether the searches are an effective policing tactic in a subway system that serves over 3 million riders per day.
The newest effort is part of a multi-pronged approach to subway safety announced by Hochul Wednesday, which will include bag checks in busy New York City subway stations, new legislation and expanded mental health outreach.
Additionally, cameras will be installed in conductor cabins across New York City’s subway system after a conductor was slashed in Brooklyn. Cameras facing conductor cabins will also be installed on platforms, Hochul said.
“If a camera had been positioned on Alton Scott’s conductor cabin last Thursday, we probably would have already apprehended the person who slashed his neck – or maybe, they wouldn’t have done it at all if they knew there were cameras watching their every move,” Hochul said.
Two years ago, Hochul announced that surveillance cameras would be put in all subway cars — the rollout of which has been sped up to address recent crimes. The MTA has already installed 15,000 cameras in subways, according to MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber.
Hochul said she will introduce legislation to allow judges to ban people convicted of violent crimes on the subway from riding for at least three years. Similar legislation already exists but has only been used three times since 2020, she said.
“Basically, if you assault someone on the subways, you won’t be on the subways,” Hochul said.
Overall, crime has dropped in New York City since a spike during the COVID-19 pandemic, and killings are down on the subway system.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.