Newly appointed Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell announced on Wednesday, Jan. 6, a set of what were described as new innovative deployment strategies to reimagine the NYPD’s safety coverage of the City’s subway system. The formal announcement was made during a press conference that day together with Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

 

As of Jan. 2, 2022, year-to-date transit crimes across the City were up 800 percent, compared to the same period last year. In the Bronx, the year-to-date numbers remained stable as of Jan. 2, compared to the same date in 2021. However, Norwood News has reported that overall over the course of 2021, a number of incidents took place on public transport or in subway stations, including assaults, robberies, shootings, apparent hate crimes, stabbings, forcible touching incidents, child abuse, and even an attempted kidnapping.

 

In September 2021, we reported that security cameras were installed at all 472 subway stations across the City in efforts to better control crime, and last summer, we also reported that for the first time ever, subway customers could request outreach assistance via 311 for those believed to be experiencing homelessness or a mental health crisis on the subway.

 

HAPPENING NOW: @NYCMayor Adams joins @GovKathyHochul and @NYPDPC Sewell at the Fulton Street Station with a major announcement on homelessness and keeping our subways safe.
https://t.co/gEjHnYY1qF

— NYC Mayor's Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) January 6, 2022

 

NYPD officials said the new agency initiatives redefine the mission [of keeping the subway safe] for officers and will reinforce agency ranks beyond the additional layers of NYPD presence already in place throughout the transit system. They said the measures will deploy officers to move cohesively through the entire transit system – particularly on subway cars, to engage with riders, observe and document all they see, and create what were described as timely, intelligence-driven responses.

 

“Safety throughout the subway system remains a top priority for the NYPD,” said Sewell. “This comprehensive new approach is centered on having more police officers on train cars talking with riders and listening to them because NYPD officers do not just respond to crime in our city – they prevent it and deter it.”

 

According to police officials, under the initiative being rolled out, hundreds of additional NYPD officers from the department’s transit bureau will work in tandem with the department’s patrol service bureau officers, and other personnel, to be present across the subway system, from both their street-side and underground positions. They said special units will “continue to augment this coverage as well, in each sector, on each tour, every day.”

 

They also said these officers will focus on engaging directly with riders, with the mission of driving down upticks in crime and improving the subway ride experience.

 

NYPD officials added that department commanders will also wield overtime strategically, with an imperative to flood those zones most in need of more uniformed presence. Under the new strategy, commanders will also direct patrols from above-ground precincts to transit stations in their area of responsibility. Additionally, they said officers in some administrative jobs will also be flexibly shifted into underground deployments, when necessary.

 

For his part, Adams said of the new initiative, “I’ve seen the homelessness crisis from all sides. As a child, I lived on the verge of homelessness. As a transit officer & public official, I’ve seen the result of inequality up close. But I also know New Yorkers care about their neighbors. We have a plan that matches their heart.”

 

They mayor recently appointed Bernard Adams, his brother, who NY1 reported is a retired NYPD sergeant, as the NYPD deputy commissioner, amid some controversy over nepotism rules. 

 

Officials said, all told, the measures will put riders at the forefront of NYPD efforts, and present a new vision of operating in the days and months ahead.