The New York Police Department is struggling to enforce safety on the city's rails but has still cut the number of cops assigned to patrol the subways, the New York Post reports.
New York City's Police Benevolent Association states that as of last month, there are 1,990 "rank-and-file police officers permanently assigned" to the subways. At the same time, the NYPD claims there are 2,500 cops assigned to its Transit Bureau.
"The ranks of our Transit Bureau — the cops who know the system best — are seriously depleted," Patrick Lynch, PBA's Union head, said.
"The NYPD is trying to cover that with forced overtime and by pulling cops from topside precincts, which are also severely understaffed. The NYPD is playing a shell game with its dwindling staffing, and everyone is losing."
The NYPD's struggle to maintain order comes as homicides in New York's City subway system have rocketed since 2020 to the highest annual levels in 25 years, despite a decrease in ridership.
"The city bragged about surges of cops but it's really a Band-Aid," one "exhausted" veteran transit cop assigned to Queens said.
"We appreciate the topside cops, but they aren't spending their whole tour down here. They have them just checking in, or they do a few hours in the station for visibility so that people see a cop and feel safe. But if we want them to actually be safe, we need to get the people who are causing problems out of the system."
But pushing back on the claims of a depleted police workforce, an NYPD spokesman says: "There are approximately 2,500 uniformed members assigned to the Transit Bureau.
"This includes patrol officers, executives, specialty officers such as K9 handlers, front line supervisors, and uniformed members primarily assigned to administrative functions."
"The added numbers of station inspections and train runs create an omnipresence that riders, at all hours, can see and feel as they make their way to school, work, or home," the spokesman continued. "The effort announced in January by Mayor Adams and Commissioner Sewell combines NYPD topside and underground patrol assets to surge into the system in meaningfully proactive ways wherever needs arise."
Despite the spokesman's claims, some remain skeptical.
"Something is not working," Joseph Giacalone, a John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor and a former NYPD sergeant, stated. "You've [the NYPD] had four homicides in the last two weeks, a 47% jump in crime last week.
"You had attacks by Green Goblins and a guy dressed as a ninja with a samurai sword. The NYPD needs to re-evaluate their deployment."
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