MTA subway crime falls to summer record low

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) subway crime fell to record lows over the summer, as overall transit crime from June 1 to Aug. 31 was down nearly 10% from 2024 and 16.8% from summer 2019. MTA adds that year-to-date, transit crime is at record lows while subway ridership is up 9%, with over 311 million rides taken during the summer months. Transit felony assaults were also down in June, July and August with 119 when compared to 150 in 2024.  

MTA also says there were 0.38 assaults per one million subway riders between June 1 and Aug. 31. Accounting for increases in ridership, there were 1.59 major crimes per one million subway rides this summer, down 30% from 2022 and in line with pre-pandemic lows.  

“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,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “All New Yorkers deserve to feel safe on public transit, and I am committed to continuing investments that make our subways and streets safe.”  

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber added, “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 Gov. Hochul — have us on track for a third straight year of declining crime.”  

According to New York Police Department (NYPD) statistics, July and August have been especially safe months, with new data confirming both were the safest July and August in history. Overall transit crime was down 22.8% in August 2025 compared to 2024, and felony assaults were down 40.4% compared to last year. Robberies were down 34% in the subway system in August compared to 2024.  

In January, Gov. Hochul allocated $77 million in state funding to support a collaboration with the NYPD to deploy officers on board subway trains during overnight hours. During the deployment, two NYPD officers patrol a subway train, moving from car to car during a train’s journey.  

MTA says there has also been progress made responding to mental health challenges in the subway. Subway Co-Response Outreach Teams (SCOUT) pair mental health clinicians with MTA police officers to provide a clinician-led approach to individuals with serious mental health needs in the subway. To date, SCOUT teams have made over 750 referrals out of the subway system, and collectively, these patients have spent over 2,000 nights in treatment. MTA notes it now has fully operationalized 10 SCOUT teams, with services provided throughout the subway system in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan.  

Investments in transit safety include:  

• $77 million to partner with the NYPD to deploy two officers on every overnight train. 
• $20 million to fully fund 10 SCOUT teams to provide a clinician-first response to mental health challenges in the subway. 
• Placed 32,000 security cameras in the New York City Subway system  
• Added new platform barriers at 74 subway stations, with the MTA on pace for 100 by the end of 2025. 
• Installed brighter LED lights in over 300 subway stations, on pace for all 472 by the end of 2025. 
• Established two Transition to Home Units at Manhattan Psychiatric Center, creating 50 beds to support homeless individuals with severe mental illness. 
• Improved coordination between Law Enforcement and District Attorneys via a new MTA Criminal Justice Advocate. 
• Installed cameras in the conductor cabs of subway trains to keep MTA employees safe. To date, the MTA has installed cameras in over 1,100 conductor cabs.  

“Surging ridership and falling crime is very good news for MTA riders, who consistently rank subway safety as their number one concern,” said MTA Chief Security Officer Michael Kemper said. “We remain focused and will continue working with the NYPD and our law enforcement partners to ensure this downward trend continues.”  

New York City Transit (NYCT) President Demetrius Crichlow added, “Keeping riders and employees safe in the transit system is always top of mind at NYCT and thanks to the investments made by Gov. Hochul and law enforcement partners, we’re delivering on that commitment. With surging ridership, historic on-time performance and decreasing crime statistics this summer, riders can rest assured they will be receiving safe, efficient and reliable trips on the subway.”