NYPD: Subway crime down slightly as commuters voice mixed feelings about safety
The NYPD says 2025 was the safest year on the subways since 2009, outside of the pandemic era. So far this year, that progress is on the same track.
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Police say subway crime is down 1% compared to this time last year.
They say 2025 was the safest year on the subways since 2009, outside of the pandemic era. So far this year, that progress is on the same track.
Some commuters say that the decline is on target with how they feel, but others, not so much.
“My commute on the 4 train is not as bad as it used to be,” said Jennifer Watkins. “It used to be a lot of homeless people on the train. So I can say it may have gone down, but it’s still up.”
“I feel like I haven't personally felt unsafe on the subway,” said Manny Ramirez.
While the overall drop may seem small, officials expect those numbers to improve as routine deployment strategies stick.
The NYPD added 150 officers to transit at the end of February.
“I believe that in January and February, we did see an uptick in crime on our subways," said Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. "I believe that not an insignificant portion of that was related to adjustments that we made in our ejection strategy, based on the Code Blue, based on the cold temperatures that we were seeing.”
But as the weather gets warmer, commuters still have some concerns about what could happen next.
“The kids are out of school,” said Watkins. “Sometimes, given the limitation with the summer youth program, you have a lot of kids that are not being selected for the summer youth program. So, now they’re riding the trains, subway surfing, smoking weed on the train, getting involved in gang activity.”
Officials acknowledge that there is always more work to be done, but they say that each day commuters can travel safely and without incident is equally worth noting.
