It began in the early days of the epidemic in March, when someone set fire inside a subway car, killing the train operator and injuring 16 others. In the months that followed, about 500 subway cars crashed into the Windows 7 line. In August Gust, a man confronted a young woman at a station on the Upper East Side and attempted to sexually assault her. And in September, a man threw metal clamps that he stole on the track.
Outbreaks in New York and subway rides began to sink, and crime of misdemeanors and misdemeanors fell: From January to the end of September, the number of crimes recorded in the system dropped by about 40 percent compared to the same period last year.
But, despite the decline in overall crime, episodes of violent crime and vandalism are on the rise, a trend that is creating an atmosphere of fear among travelers and another challenge to the infected system of outbreaks of the virus that has deprived it of riders and money.
The number of subway murders, rapes, burglaries and robberies reported so far this year is higher than the same period last year, according to police department figures. Transportation officials say there has also been an increase in vandalism incidents.
The subway is even safer than the dark days of the 1970s and 1980s, when violence spread over the graffiti-laden system and frightened riders or occupants of empty cars. But after two consecutive decades of steady decline in offenders, the recent upheaval in major crimes – many of which have been captured on video and circulated on Twitter – has led to speculation among many riders that the system is falling apart again.
That negative image comes at a time when the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority Authority, which oversees the subway, is eager to win back riders as it grapples with the worst economic crisis in its history and the rental revenue that has disappeared overnight. He tries to recover.
“It’s more important than ever for riders to get back on the system,” said Lisa Daglian, executive director of the permanent civil advisory committee of the MTA, watchdog group. “They should not feel that they are endangering their health, and they should know that they are not endangering their lives. Safety riders got when there were more crowds and there were more eyes in the system. Now there are fewer people in stations and train cars. ”
So far this year, the carnage has reached its highest level in three years: six people have been killed in the subway, one in 2018 and none in 2017 compared to all last year. Five rapes have been reported this year, compared to two last year.
The number of robberies has risen by 16 per cent to at least 457 this year as compared to 394 during the same period last year. The number of burglary cases, including shoplifting on platforms, is 22 this year compared to five in the same period last year. According to the transit agency, vandalism has risen by 24 per cent to 868 this year compared to 702 last year.
Police officials have warned against exaggerating, noting that crime is not as close as it was decades ago, when violence engulfed the entire city, including the subway. In 1990, for example, the system had 26 homesides.
“On this occasion we have these high profile crimes, but it does not define the system,” said Transit Police Chief Edward Deltor. However, he added, “We will not tolerate iniquity in the subway system.”
The reduction in rideships during the epidemic has helped curb overall crime. Today riderships account for as much as 30 percent of pre-epidemic levels.
While fewer riders means fewer potential targets for minor offenses – such as sleeping passengers preying on pickpockets – it also means that criminals may be motivated by the lack of potential witnesses.
“It’s a reflection of what’s happening in the city in general, and it’s a reflection of a system that’s more empty than we’ve seen in a long time,” said Sarah Feinberg, interim president of New York City Transit.
To address safety concerns, the MTAA deployed 85 uniformed and unarmed security guards to patrol the subway and report the crime to the police. At any given time, the subway has about 60 MTA police and 300 city police officers, according to the transit agency. (A police spokesman will not comment on the number, citing security reasons.)
In recent months, transit officials have called for additional city uniformed city police officers to patrol the system after riders and transport workers complained of seeing fewer officers on the subway.
“The NYPD Transit Bureau is doing what it can, but imaginatively it looks like the police have taken a step into the system and I think that’s a reflection of what we saw throughout the city.” Officials claim the police department slowed down unannounced work this summer in protest of police brutality by the police industry.
Chief Deltor disputed that notion, explaining that many officers in the subway are on the grounds and not recognized by the people. “Our officers are focusing on the crimes we are witnessing,” he said. “Policing has come into play with precision.”
With the epidemic flowing to the public transport system in the country of their passengers, the impact that less ridership has had on crime is changing in the big cities.
According to police data and transit agencies, Boston and Washington have seen no increase in public transport crimes, while Chicago has seen an increase in robberies and Philadelphia, and their systems have seen an increase in robberies as well as robberies.
For many riders who still use public transportation in New York, the emptiness of the system has created a sense of insecurity and fear of being knocked down or attacked while waiting on a deserted platform or if they become the only person in a train car. Bho does.
“We didn’t always feel safe before, but now we certainly don’t feel safe,” said Dana Drazilla, whose 68-year-old mother was moved on the train tracks at 14th Street-6th Avenue station in Manhattan. Way to go home from a job as a home caretaker in July.
He managed to pull it off the tracks before the train arrived by passengers, but Ms. Drezila suffered five broken bones and two broken ribs in her spine. For two months after the attack, Ms Drazilla avoided public transport altogether, her daughter says. But at the end of September she had to return to work – and in the subway.
“She’s very nervous, but at the same time she needs to work, she needs income.” “My brother asked her to retire, but she couldn’t. Now we are all concerned about safety. “
Other riders have changed their habit of coming to face their sense of discomfort.
Sand n Avila, Sand, awaiting a train at Brooklyn’s Jay Street-Metrotech station in Brooklyn, said she recently started avoiding empty train trains when a man came in and tormented her and left her 19-year-old daughter alone.
But the decision to board more crowded trains is a trade-off: surrounded by strangers, she worries about being exposed to the virus while going to work.
“I’m upset,” Ms. Avila said. “I sometimes see people without masks and it makes me really nervous.”
In a recent MTA survey of 20,000 people, most riders identified safety issues related to wearing face inks and general health as their top concerns; Concerns about crime and harassment came in third.
For transport workers, whose ranks were eradicated by the virus, personal safety has also become a major issue: crime and misdemeanors against transport workers on the subway have increased by 57 percent so far this year compared to the same period last year. MTA
“It’s reminiscent of the bad days, the crack epidemic and the chaos that reigned in the city at the time,” said Eric Gessers, a train conductor who fell unconscious in September after breaking into a passenger’s cabin and breaking a glass bottle. Over his head.
Just four months ago, Mr. Gracie had another uncertain experience at work: One night in June, when he was late between train stations, two men tried to open the door of his cabin and the train moved, screaming at him. .
He said, “It was once in my adult life, I’m scared this way.”
Ellen Dalek Rierre contributed to the research.
