Posted on 03/06/24
| News Source: ABC7NY
Governor Kathy Hochul revealed a five-point plan Wednesday to bring additional state resources to bear on combatting subway crime in New York City.
The plan includes the deployment of 750 National Guard members and 250 New York State and MTA police officers into the subway system, and additional teams to handle cases involving people exhibiting signs of mental illness.
The new deployment adds to the additional 1,000 NYPD officers ordered into the subway last month to conduct bag checks and follows the slashing of a conductor and other high profile crimes.
Hochul is also calling for people deemed to be too dangerous by a judge to be banned from the subway. She is pushing for a state law that allows judges to block a person from riding the subway or buses for three years if they are convicted of attacking a passenger.
Hochul is asking for district attorneys to coordinate to keep these repeat offenders out of the transit system. Repeat offenders like Milton Hamlin, who is now back in custody after allegedly slashing a man riding on an A train Friday night.
The 46-year-old has been arrested nearly a dozen times since 2005, for crimes including assault and robbery. He's also a Level 3 sex offender.
Hochul said judges will "need to hold up their end of the bargain" by exercising their discretion to hold repeat offenders like Hamlin.
"They'll flag the criminal history at the time, so it can be fully considered when decisions regarding charging and bail are made," Hochul said.
Transit crime was actually down in February by more than 15% compared to February of 2023, but that follows a 45% increase in January, caused mainly by grand larcenies.
NYPD Transit Chief Michael Kemper said arrests in the subway system are up 45% this year and 3,000 arrests were made in the subway system in the first two months of the year, many of them repeat offenders.
"Why are we arresting people 100 times and once we make those arrests, why are they out within a day or two, sometimes," Kemper said.