How bad is crime in the subway?

The health of the subway is crucial to New York’s overall vitality, making ensuring riders feel safe a top priority for the government officials managing the city’s post-pandemic recovery.

On Wednesday, about a week after a train conductor was slashed in the neck on a southbound A train in Brooklyn, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she would deploy hundreds of National Guard soldiers and New York State Police officers to the system. They patrol platforms and help check bags.

Here’s what we know about crime in the subway:

Is crime a problem in the metro?

Although Metropolitan Transportation Authority surveys show that many passengers feel unsafe, the data has not always confirmed the public’s perception.

Crime rates rose during the pandemic that started in 2020, but the subway became safer last year.

But some riders are still nervous. “Perception is becoming reality for people,” said Lisa Daglian, executive director of the MTA’s Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee, a watchdog group. “When you look at crime reports and see the numbers are going down, but you hear your neighbors saying they’re afraid to drive, that becomes your reality.”

According to a New York Times analysis, there was about one violent crime per million subway rides in mid-2022. Since then, the overall crime rate has fallen and the number of passengers has increased, further reducing the chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime. Last year, overall crime on public transport fell by almost 3 percent compared to 2022, while the number of daily passengers increased by 14 percent.

The downward trend came to a halt early this year due to a rise in major crimes in January, which declined in February. Through March 3, there were three murders on public transport, compared to one in the same period last year, according to police data. Overall, major crimes — including felonies, burglaries and grand thefts — are up 13 percent so far this year, the data shows.

Through February 25, authorities counted six attacks on subway workers, up from five last year, police data show.

What is being done?

Over the past two years, state and city leaders have launched several anti-crime initiatives in the metro, including additional overtime for police officers and the involuntary removal of seriously mentally ill homeless people.

Officials have also installed hundreds of additional surveillance cameras, including in subways.

Mayor Eric Adams announced last month that another 1,000 uniformed officers would be added to the metro, and Ms. Hochul on Wednesday released what she described as a five-point plan to combat crime in the system. It included the deployment of more state law enforcement officers and measures that would have to be approved by the state Legislature to allow judges to ban people convicted of a violent crime from the subway.

“I think these initiatives are actually going to make the system safer and feel safer,” Janno Lieber, the MTA’s chairman and CEO, said after the announcement.

The MTA is also testing new fare gates to stop turnstile jumpers and metal platform barriers to prevent passengers from falling onto train tracks.

How much is spent?

According to city audit data, the city spent a total of $821 million on police officer overtime in fiscal year 2023 — about 34 percent of the $2.42 billion the city spent on all overtime. The department’s overtime rate was the highest of any city agency.

Of the $821 million in overtime for officers, the city spent nearly $89 million on patrolling public transportation. Another $66 million in public transit overtime came from state funding, a dramatic increase from the roughly $4 million the city has received for police transit overtime in recent years.

Most of that money went to pay for police officers who had to work an additional 1,200 hours of overtime per day. City Council members are expected to meet March 20 to review police overtime in fiscal year 2023 and the agency’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2024.

Why is subway crime such a priority?

The MTA’s recovery from the pandemic depends on riders returning in greater numbers, and transit leaders are feeling pressure to make the system more inviting.

New York Democrats are also preparing for the November elections and trying to address perceptions about rising crime, which Republicans used to win congressional races across the state in 2022.

Even though the chances of becoming a victim of crime are slim for most motorcyclists, random attacks have shocked commuters. During the morning rush hour in April 2022, a gunman committed a mass shooting on the N train. A Goldman Sachs employee, Daniel Enriquez, was shot dead on the Q train in May. Last year a woman was pushed against a moving subway train.

In an MTA survey from January this yearNearly 20 percent of passengers said they would ride the subway more often if there were fewer people behaving erratically on the trains and stations, and more than 10 percent said they would do so if they had more police and security guards in the system would see.