New York Mayor Eric Adams has criticized the failure to stop repeat offenders as the Big Apple grapples with a surge in subway crimes.
The former top cop, 63, this week launched a crackdown that will see subway passengers subjected to “random” bag checks while increasing the number of plainclothes police.
Adams emphasized that the measures are necessary to curb an increase in subway attacks, especially on MTA workers. According to him, this is mainly caused by the fact that a small number of criminals can target people hundreds of times.
He noted that in 2023, 38 people were arrested for a whopping 1,126 attacks on MTA employees, while last year 542 people were arrested for more than 7,600 shoplifting incidents.
“We do our job,” he said PIX11 on Wednesday. “You can’t have 38 people who committed 1,126 crimes in our city back on the streets.”
In a separate interview on Wednesday with CBS New YorkIt was noted that Adams is deploying 94 bag screening teams at 136 stations, among a total of 472 subway stations in New York City.
These efforts will be bolstered by nearly 1,000 New York State Police, MTA Police and National Guard troops deployed to assist with subway bag checks, it was announced Wednesday.
New York Mayor Eric Adams (pictured with NYPD Transit Chief Michael Kemper) said he’s ‘not happy’ with the state of subway crime as he cracks down
Adams deploys 94 bag screening teams to 136 stations, covering a total of 472 subway stations in New York City
While the technology isn’t ready yet, the mayor said he hopes to improve New York City’s subway security by introducing gun screening systems throughout the city.
The systems were a promise Adams made when he ran for mayor, but said this week he was still waiting for Silicon Valley to respond to his “challenge to the tech industry.”
In the meantime, he said he launched the latest measures because the city is suffering from what he called a “recidivism spike”: criminals continue to commit crimes after being arrested and released.
He noted that the number of repeat MTA attackers — with every 38 suspects accounting for an average of nearly 30 attacks by 2023 — has risen despite arrests being made.
Without naming anyone, the mayor alluded to a weak system that allows offenders to return to the streets, saying the city “needs to do an analysis of the entire criminal justice system to make sure every aspect of it is doing its job .’
In one of the recent attacks a week ago, a subway conductor was cut in the neck after briefly sticking his head out of a train window.
Last month, city officials also criticized the release without bail of a repeat offender who has already been arrested six times this year and reportedly has 47 priors and 28 convictions for preying on New Yorkers, reports PIX11.
The perpetrator, Rudell Faulkner, was quickly released back onto the streets despite being arrested for grand theft from a 56-year-old woman and possession of narcotics when he was arrested in February.
Last month, subway conductor Alton Scott, 59, received 34 stabs after being knocked down in a random attack on a New York subway
Repeat offender Rudell Faulkner (pictured) sparked outrage last month after he was quickly released onto the streets after an arrest, despite six arrests this year and a total of 47 priors and 28 convictions for preying on New Yorkers
Adams also said the NYPD is focusing on an increase in shoplifting and thefts in the city, which he said are once again being committed by a small number of perpetrators.
The 542 repeat offenders arrested last year were each responsible for an average of more than fourteen violations, with incidents of moped migrants randomly attacking them on the street marking an escalation in recent months.
While he insisted he is “not happy” with the state of subway crime in the city, Adams added that his measures have worked.
He cited a 15 percent drop in metro crime in February compared to January, and said “there will be bumps from time to time.”
PIX11 hosts countered that there has been a 13 percent spike in violent crime in the metro compared to last year.
“We do a combination of things,” Adams said.
“We put 1,000 uniformed members (of the NYPD) into the subway system after we saw the spike in the month of January. We have seen results from that.’
Adams added that New York Governor Kathy Hochul has been a “great partner” in his efforts. On Wednesday, it was announced that her office would deploy state resources to curb the crime wave.
This will put nearly 1,000 new officers on the streets, consisting of 750 National Guard troops and 250 additional MTA police and state police officers.
Adams is sending more police to stations around the city and citing repeat offenders for fueling the crisis. He noted that in 2023, 38 people were arrested for a whopping 1,126 attacks on MTA employees, while last year 542 people were arrested for more than 7,600 shoplifting incidents.
Adams appeared alongside NYPD Transit Chief Michael Kemper, who doubled down on Adams transit measures and said the abundance of cameras at subway stations now acts as an additional deterrent.
“Those cameras have tremendous value,” Kemper said. “And they’re all in the subway system. Literally thousands of cameras. Those cameras are a deterrent.”
“Our officers are visible, they ride on trains, they stand on platforms, they stand at the turnstiles,” Kemper said.
“We have plainclothes officers 24 hours a day throughout the entire subway system in every neighborhood.”
