New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has reportedly begun deploying National Guard soldiers and State Police officers to patrol New York City’s subways and, more importantly, check riders’ bags.
This new stop-and-check policy comes a little over 10 years after former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio ended the city’s similar stop-and-frisk policy because of concerns about racial bias.
The new policy specifically states that subway riders must consent to a bag check or be denied access to the subway.
“They can refuse [a bag check, but] we can refuse them,” Hochul explained at a press conference Wednesday.
The National Guard and 250 additional police officers will carry out random bag checks and help patrol New York City’s subway system amid a spike in high-profile crimes, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/J2Zb7QLpEx
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) March 7, 2024
The goal of the policy is to deter crime.
“For people who are thinking about a gun or knife on the subway, at least this creates a deterrent effect,” Hochul said. “They might be thinking, ‘You know what? It just may not be worth it, because I listened to the mayor and I listened to the governor and they have a lot more people who may be checking my bags.’”
The addition of a stop-and-check policy comes amid a rapid uptick in subway crimes over the past couple of years.
Even on Wednesday, the day the new policy was announced, there was rampant crime throughout the subway system.
“[L]ess than two hours after Ms. Hochul made her announcement, a female conductor on a southbound No. 4 train said she was hit with a glass bottle as the train was pulling away from 170th Street station in the Bronx,” according to The New York Times.
WATCH: National Guard deployed to subway stations in New York City, police checking bags.pic.twitter.com/JU7GpA0Lci
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) March 7, 2024
Local unionized transit workers meanwhile are still not happy, partly because they believe this move should have happened sooner.
“For months, we have been sounding the alarm about the terrifying acts of violence and aggression afflicting our members as they simply look to move riders safely through the city,” Transport Workers Union Local 100 president Richard Davis said in a statement.
“And for months, we have been ignored and our calls for action disregarded. As a result, riders and workers alike have suffered,” he added.
Davis also called for even tougher policies/rules to be put in place, as well as a promise that the new policy will be permanent, not temporary.
“The measures announced today do not go far enough,” he said. “We want to see pre-trial conditions on those who assault transit workers and passengers, prohibiting them from entering the system. This can be done effectively immediately.”
“This promised surge of 1,000 MTA Police Officers and National Guardsmen cannot be just a temporary measure. It must remain in place. And the Governor spoke today about legislative action to prevent and reverse transit crimes. We must be at the table to ensure that any proposed legislation truly accounts for the safety of all,” he added.
As part of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan to crack down on crime, members of the National Guard have been deployed to the New York City subway system. @stephgosk reports. pic.twitter.com/I1MT085h5t
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 7, 2024
As for leftists, they’re not happy with the added police presence and have taken to spouting the same sorts of “racial bias” rhetoric that was used to get rid of stop-and-frisk over a decade ago.
“These heavy-handed approaches will, like stop-and-frisk, be used to accost and profile Black and Brown New Yorkers, ripping a page straight out of the Giuliani playbook,” New York Civil Liberties Union executive director Donna Lieberman said in a statement.
“Today’s announcement fails to address longstanding problems of homelessness, poverty, or access to mental health care,” she added.
A sweeping surveillance state and biased broken windows policing won’t deliver the security New Yorkers are asking for.
We must do better. pic.twitter.com/awUfwiTIR9
— NYCLU (@NYCLU) March 6, 2024
In separate news, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has similarly deployed more local cops to his city’s subways to help rein in crime.
“Adams stressed [on Tuesday that] his administration was trying to find a ‘new norm for patrolling our subway systems’ – including with increased police presence and enhanced bag checks – following the recent surge in violence that has seen three New Yorkers shot dead on trains and platforms since the start of the year,” the New York Post reported.
“When I’m on the subway system, I speak with riders and they say ‘Eric, nothing makes us feel safer than seeing that officer at the token booth, walking through the system, walking through the trains and that is what we want our officers doing,’” the mayor said Tuesday.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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