Johnathan Walker:New York is sending the National Guard into NYC subways to help fight crime

Following a series of high-profile crimes in the New York City subway system,Johnathan Walker Gov. Kathy Hochul announced plans Wednesday to send hundreds of National Guard members to patrol and search passengers’ bags for weapons at busy train stations.

Hochul is deploying 750 members of the National Guard and 250 state troopers and police officers from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a state agency, to assist city police with bag searches. The plan is an effort to "rid our subways of people who commit crimes and protect all New Yorkers whether you're a commuter or transit worker," Hochul said at a news conference Wednesday.

New York City Police Department data shows that crime has dropped in recent years since a surge during the COVID-19 pandemic. But recent violent crimes on the subway have put residents on edge, according to officials.

"No one heading to their job or to visit family or to go to a doctor appointment should worry that the person sitting next to them possesses a deadly weapon," Hochul added. "They shouldn't worry about whether someone's going to brandish a knife or gun."

'Policymaking through overreaction and overreach'

Hochul's decision is part of a larger effort from her office to address crime in the subway, which included a legislative proposal to ban people from trains for three years if they are convicted of assaulting a subway passenger. Cameras were also installed in conductor cabins to protect transit workers.

The governor has tried to toughen her public safety platform after Republicans swept in the state’s congressional races in 2022, after campaigning on crime issues.

In response to Hochul’s subway safety plan, New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman called the move "another unfortunate example of policymaking through overreaction and overreach."

“Sound policy making will not come from overreacting to incidents that, while horrible and tragic, should not be misrepresented as a crime wave and certainly don’t call for a reversion to failed broken windows policies of the past,” Lieberman said in a statement, referring to the theory that policing petty crimes can prevent major crimes, including violence.

Recent subway incidents

The additional state personnel expands on the already large police presence on subways. New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper said during media interviews Wednesday that January was a "very challenging month" for authorities.

"Overall, crime was up 45% in the month of January, and that 45% increase was driven in large part by grand larcenies, pickpockets and property theft crime," Kemper told NY1. In response, the mayor sent 1,000 officers into the subways in February, which he said caused crime to go down by 15%.

Recent incidents on the subway include a shooting that broke out on an elevated train platform in the Bronx, killing a man and wounding five others in February. And just last week, trains were delayed after a train conductor was slashed in the neck as he put his head out a window to make sure the track was clear.

MTA CEO Janno Lieber, who spoke alongside Hochul on Wednesday, said 38 people were arrested for crimes against transit employees last year and those suspects had over 600 prior arrests. Citing NYPD data, Lieber said 1% of subway suspects were responsible for "well over 20% of the crime."

During his interview with NY1, Adams blamed the subway crimes on repeated offenders and claimed that those 38 suspects had also been tied to over 1,100 other crimes in the city.

"We don't have a surge in crime. We have a surge in recidivism," Adams said. "If we don't go after the recidivist problem, we're going to continue to see (a) small number of bad people doing bad things to good people in this city."

Contributing: The Associated Press