New York Gov. Hochul calls in National Guard, state police to help curb crime in NYC subways

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is sending in the National Guard to New York City to help police curb a surge in crime in the city’s subways. 

Announcing a five-point plan Wednesday, the Democratic governor said she was deploying 750 members of the National Guard to the subways to assist the New York Police Department with bag searches at entrances to busy train stations.

“For people who are thinking about bringing a gun or knife on the subway, at least this creates a deterrent effect. They might be thinking, ‘You know what, it just may just not be worth it because I listened to the mayor and I listened to the governor and they have a lot more people who are going to be checking my bags,'” Hochul said at a news conference in New York City.

The move came as part of a larger effort by the governor’s office to address crime in the subway, which included a legislative proposal to ban people from trains for three years if they are convicted of assaulting a subway passenger and the installation of cameras in conductor cabins to protect transit workers. 

The governor’s plan also includes better coordination with district attorneys to help prevent repeat offenders and an additional $20 million for expanding subway outreach programs. 

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New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced plans on Tuesday to have more police patrolling the subways as the city attempts to curb a near 20% increase in crime levels during the first two months of 2024 compared to the same period last year, according to NYPD data cited by the New York Post. 

There were three homicides in the underground system over January and February, while incidents such as grand larcenies, felony assaults and robberies have also skyrocketed.

On Sunday, a 64-year-old postal worker was kicked onto the tracks at Penn Station in Manhattan while a 20-year-old woman fought off a man who punched her in the face and tried to rape her in Queens. Last week, a subway conductor was slashed in the neck when he stuck his head out of the cabin window during a stop at a station in Brooklyn.