The New York City Police Department on Monday announced plans to deploy 800 more uniformed and undercover officers to the city’s subways to crack down on fare evasion. new york post report.
NYPD Sergeant John Chell said in a press conference that the department will increase presence at multiple subway stations over the next five days to deter fare violators in a five-day initiative called “Operation Fair Play.” Then he said. He claimed the initiative would help curb the rise in violent crime.
Chell did not say which substations the officers would be stationed at, but said locations would be chosen based on crime levels, Metropolitan Transportation Authority statistics and complaints from local residents, the newspaper reported.
NYPD Transportation Commissioner Michael Kemper said the MTA and the community feel that “blatant fare evasion at the turnstiles” is a “major” and ongoing problem.
“Passengers should not be subjected to open misconduct anywhere on our subway system, and a law and order posture must start at the turnstiles,” Kemper said. “Please don’t. Don’t jump, crawl, or go through the gate. Make the right decision.”
“This is not a one-week contract,” Chell said.
“We’re going to do it over and over again. The reason we’re not revealing the location is because we don’t want people to know,” he said. “What we want them to know is, ‘Don’t come here and think you can take a free ride and take your weapons.'”
“No more freebies. Are you talking about weapons raining down? We’re done here,” Chell said.
So far this year, the NYPD has issued 28,000 citations and arrested 1,700 people for fare evasion, Kemper reported. Additionally, 20 subway passengers were arrested with firearms. Eleven of the guns were discovered when police stopped individuals on suspicion of assault.
Kemper believes the operation will be effective in “modifying behavior and keeping the subway system and passengers ultimately safe.”
“Let’s be clear: fare evasion enforcement and the presence of turnstiles are key elements of our crime reduction strategy. We do it every day. Every day of the year. This is nothing new. This week we will step it up even more,” he added.
Jano Lieber, MTA Chairman and CEO said“We are excited about the commitment to traffic safety that Mayor (Eric) Adams and the NYPD have demonstrated time and time again.”
Recent post The report found that while metro crime overall has decreased, violent assaults resulting in serious injuries have increased. There were 373 felony assaults in 2019, and that number jumped to 570 last year.
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