Opinion: Are More Police in The Subway Stations Really the Answer? 

Crime stats haven’t changed at all due to the covid-19 pandemic. And new information shows that crime has gone up only the first few weeks into 2021! NYC solution? Add another 500 police officers to patrol subway stations. 

By: Carolyn Franco 

Posted on February 23, 2021, at 7:24 p.m. ET

(via google images) 

“It’s scary sometimes you know. You never know what can happen to you “said Rosario, who takes the subway to work every weekday. Taking the train to work isn’t anything new for Rosario. She has been working in Manhattan for the past ten years and has witnessed some things over the years that can be traumatizing for some. 

         It’s heartbreaking when you see something being done and you can’t do anything about it because of the fear that you might get wrapped into a situation that you don’t want to be a part of. I remember vividly a few weeks ago, I was on the N train with my father, and it was a semi-empty train with a few other passengers when a white lady walks in and starts screaming. Right away you can assume she was a drug addict or homeless person by her appearance. Normally, this wouldn’t be something that I would pay attention to. I was always told to mind my own business and not look their way. But this lady started saying racial slurs on the train clearly seeing there was people of color on the train. The lady had no mask on which even made the situation worse because she was breaking the six-feet apart guideline going up to people’s faces. It was a horrible situation that no one wanted to be a part of. I looked at my father to see what he thought but he just nodded his head no and kept looking forward. Finally, someone stood up to her and escorted her off the train. 

         “It’s sad how people do not respect the social distance especially in times like these ” Rosario goes on, “I have luckily never been in a situation where I have been tried to get robbed or assaulted but I do see these things happen once in a while. “No matter how many police officers are put to patrol the subway stations, that doesn’t stop anyone from committing crime in broad daylight or at night. 

         Though statistics appear to show that crime is down by a little, it still doesn’t change the fact that there was no dramatic change in crime that happens on subways during the pandemic. In the New York Post article, “Subway crime is steady despite dramatic ridership decline, MTA stats show” it briefly summarizes how though “overall felonies are only down 24 percent year-over-year in the transit system — and the number of murders, rapes and burglaries have all increased.” With new rules that were put into place due to the covid-19 pandemic there was no dramatic change when it came to crime on the subway, “the system saw two murders through September 2019, there were five over the same period in 2020. Rapes increased from three to five. Burglaries jumped from five last year to 22 this year.” It is clear that crime didn’t stop like the world stopped in 2020. People were still at risk in subway stations, especially essential workers who were working during the first few months of the pandemic. 

         Though the NYPD has said that they will provide more police officers in the subway stations, there is really no evidence that providing more police patrol will make subway stations safer. In the New York Daily News article, “Assaults on NYC subway cops tripled in January from last year” it says how crime hasn’t changed pretty much at all since ridership has been down, “ Most types of major crimes on the subway increased or remained flat in the first six weeks of the year compared with the same period of 2020 — even as ridership has decreased by 70% due to the pandemic.” it also goes on to say even a year ago before the pandemic started the crime rate still remains the same after a year with the difference of this time being in a pandemic with rules in place of social distancing and wearing a mask, “ Murders and burglaries both increased in the subway from Jan. 1 through Feb. 14 this year compared with last, NYPD data shows. Police reported the same number of rapes and assaults compared with last year.” This just goes to show that even though there will be an increase in police presence in subway stations there is no guarantee that it will solve anything regarding the increase in crime.

         “I don’t believe there will be much change with having more police presence in the subway stations. I may be wrong, but stuff still happens even when there is police presence “Rosario states. I do agree with her, having more police presence doesn’t really solve the problem at all. I think no matter what, crime is always going to happen, especially in more places where there aren’t as many people as possible in a subway station than others. Obviously, there is going to be more police officers in the Time Square station and Union Square station because that is where there are masses of people coming in out of the subway but what about other stations that are least patrolled by police?

         At the end of the day, it all depends on how you look out for yourself. Maybe in a situation you will get lucky enough that police show up to save you but what happens if that isn’t the case? What does one do? You obviously have to protect yourself in any way, shape or form. 

         So, whether you come to NYC to visit or live here, remember to stay aware at all times (even the train announcers remind you of that) don’t rely so much on police officer to keep you safe, don’t ever be afraid to defend yourself or someone else when you see a crime happen but also be cautious and smart on how you approach the situation. 

Reflection

            When I was writing this opinion editorial, I planned it to be for Buzzfeed. I chose Buzzfeed because I liked how in some articles there were short paragraphs, and it would stick mostly to a personal story but then in other articles they would have long paragraphs that would have a personal story and they would throw in some facts here and there. So, I saw how everyone had a unique sense of style when it came to writing their articles, so I liked that and decided to do one of my own and incorporate short and long paragraphs to keep the reader engaged because articles that have short and long paragraphs personally keep me engaged. I realized that Buzzfeed has a variety of different articles to choose from, which is why I chose this because I wrote on how NYC is responding to the crime statistics. My audience for this article is for the BuzzFeed readers who are interested in what steps a very well-known city that has a very high population of people, responds to the crimes that are happening in their city.  I also intend to give advice to anyone who plans on coming to NYC whether it be to visit the city or to move here, this article can give them an idea on what they can run into when they are here. 

            The rhetorical situation I am addressing in this opinion editorial is to not depend on police for every situation you encounter on subways. Some people do depend on police to solve every single crime that happens in the station but that’s sadly just not possible. So, what I am trying to get across is to be aware of your surroundings anywhere you go especially at subways stations. One tends to be on their phone or have their music blasting on high that at any given moment anything can happen to you and you may not notice until the last second and that can delay a reaction of some sort that can get you out of that situation. 

            I included an interview with someone who does take the train daily. I chose my mom, and she was excited to be a part of it and she fit the description of who I wanted to interview. Including an interview which was a way of trying to make the article seem more interesting especially since that’s how I started my opinion editorial to hook the reader but also to match how the articles on BuzzFeed are because most of the opinion editorials that I read included a personal story that correlated with what they were talking about and the message they were trying to get across. 

Works Cited

Franco, Carolyn. Personal Interview. 21 February 2021 

Tracy, Thomas, and Clayton Guse. “Assaults on NYC Subway Cops Tripled in January from 

Last Year.” Nydailynews.com, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2021, www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-nypd-assaults-rise-subway-cops-20210218-gmn7tw5hlnhefnoagpnsu376wq-story.html.

Meyer, David. “Subway Crime Is Steady despite Dramatic Ridership Decline, MTA Stats 

Show.” New York Post, New York Post, 26 Oct. 2020, nypost.com/2020/10/26/subway-crime-is-steady-despite-dramatic-ridership-decline-mta/.