Crime on New York Subway Falls to Historic Low

Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that crime on New York City’s subway system fell to its lowest levels in decades this summer, recording the safest July and August in history.

Data released by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and New York Police Department (NYPD) shows that overall transit crime between June and August 2025 dropped by almost 10 percent compared with 2024, and by 16.8 percent compared with the same period in 2019.

According to the figures, felony assaults on the subway declined by 21 percent compared with last summer, falling from 150 cases to 119. This equates to 0.38 assaults per one million journeys. When accounting for ridership increases, major crimes stood at 1.59 per one million journeys, a decrease of 30 percent since 2022 and in line with pre-pandemic levels.

Subway ridership also reached its highest point since the pandemic, with more than 311 million trips taken during the summer — a rise of almost 9 percent compared with 2024.

This decline follows targeted measures introduced over the past two years, including increased police presence and investment in mental health support. In January, the state committed 77 million USD to deploy two NYPD officers on every overnight train. In addition, ten Subway Co-Response Outreach Teams (SCOUT), combining clinicians with MTA police officers, are now active across the system. These teams have made more than 750 referrals, leading to patients spending a combined 2,000 nights in treatment.

Governor Hochul said:

When I took office, I vowed to drive down subway crime and keep it down. With strategic investments in public safety and targeted interventions, crimes across our subway system have officially reached record lows. All New Yorkers deserve to feel safe on public transit — and I am committed to continuing investments that make our subways and streets safe.

Other safety measures introduced under Hochul’s leadership include:

• Expansion of security cameras, with more than 32,000 now in use, including over 17,000 on the city’s 6,000 subway cars
• Installation of LED lighting at more than 300 stations, with the full network of 472 stations expected to be upgraded by the end of 2025
• Construction of platform barriers at 74 stations, with a target of 100 by year end
• Establishment of two new Transition to Home Units at Manhattan Psychiatric Center, creating 50 beds for homeless individuals with severe mental illness
• Introduction of cameras in over 1,100 conductor cabs to improve staff safety

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said:

The subway is safer today than before the pandemic and we all know why: more cops, more security cameras, and more mental health outreach. These interventions and others — funded and supported by Governor Hochul — have us on track for a third straight year of declining crime.