NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey calls it "measurable, sustained progress" as new numbers show the subway is a lot safer than some might think.
"A lot less crime [is] happening in transit than was happening pre-pandemic, and overall crime and transit [are] now down to 1.8% of all crime in the city," he said.
Despite an 8.6% decrease from 2019, the crime rate in the transit system is higher than it was in the past two years when ridership dropped due to the pandemic.
Ridership has not yet fully returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to MTA data.
Corey argued that "the media" is driving fear about transit safety.
"There is a narrative that's inaccurate that's driving people's perceptions of how safe the subway really is," he added.
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Transit Police Chief Jason Wilcox is praising a focus on quality of life infractions.
"Our summons enforcement for quality of life [is] up nearly 160% this year," Wilcox said. "That's about 10,000 more such summonses."
He said that the most common summons are for drinking and smoking in the system.
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