Statistics Show 2021 had the Highest Violent Crime Rate on Subways Since 1997

Despite COVID-19 decimating ridership on the MTA’s busses and trains over the last two years, violent crime on the subways in 2021 (including robbery, assault, and murder) reached rates not seen since 1997, according to data released by the NYPD.

The New York Daily News reports that ridership is down by nearly 50% compared to pre-pandemic numbers. However, the crime rate has risen from 1.47 crimes per million riders in 2019 to 2.46 crimes per million riders in 2021.

All major violent crimes in New York City during the first two weeks of January 2022 has risen by more than a third compared to data from the first two weeks of January of 2021. The New York Post reports that transit crimes alone have risen by 65% compared to this time last year.

While it’s premature to deduce the reasoning for such a sharp rise in transit crime over the last year, experts theorize that economic factors from COVID-19 coupled with the lack of funding for mental health resources and homelessness may be contributing factors. It should be noted that the increased presence of uniformed police officers deployed in the subways this past summer has not reduced violent crime rates in the proceeding months based on statistics released by the NYPD every week.