Subway crime was down just over 23% in March compared to the same time last year, the NYPD’s latest stats show — after hundreds of extra cops were dispatched into the system following a spate of violent attacks.
There were 166 felony crimes reported at subway stations citywide last month — down from the 217 recorded in March 2023, according to the data.
“We’re down in crime in the subway system, folks,” Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday. “Can we please stop saying we’re up in crime in our subway system? We are not.”
While the data from last month did show drastic declines in subway crime rates, overall transit crime between January through March was only down 1% when compared to the first quarter of 2023, according to the NYPD stats.
Touting the overall year-over-year drop for March, NYPD officials attributed the decline to the 1,000 additional officers that have flooded the system daily since February to carry out 12-hour patrols in a bid to boost coverage underground.
Another 800 cops were recently deployed, too, as part of the “Operation Fare Play” initiative to enforce fare evasion, they said.
Separately, Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed hundreds of National Guard troops into the system last month to help cops patrol stations and check commuters’ bags as part of a wider crime-fighting plan.
It comes after subway crime rates spiked 45% in January compared to the same month in 2023, but then dropped by double digits — 15% — in the following month.
The number of robberies underground were down 51% in March compared to that month last year, and grand larceny incidents declined by 15%. Felony assaults, too, decreased by roughly 11%, per the stats.
Since the start of the year, overall subway arrests are up nearly 53% compared to the same time frame in 2022, which includes 22 gun arrests, the data shows.
Concerns about transit crime have surged of late following a slew of violent incidents this year alone, including the deadly shooting on a crowded train car in Brooklyn earlier in March.
“There cannot be a sense of lawlessness in the subway system, and it begins at the turnstiles,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said Wednesday as he lauded the latest crime stats.
“It is highly encouraging to see the tangible results of our hard work – the investment we are making is clearly paying dividends,” he continued.
“We vow to maintain our tight focus on the drivers of crime in order to improve transportation safety – and perceptions of safety – at every station, on every train, at all hours of the day and night.”
