NYCT sees safest month recorded for subway system
July 2025 was the safest July in history for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) New York City Transit (NYCT) subway system, with an eight percent drop in overall major felony crimes compared to July 2024. According to MTA, New York Police Department (NYPD) statistics show robberies are down 16.7 percent, felony assaults down 9.3 percent and grand larcenies down six percent. There were no burglaries the entire month of July.
The agency says average ridership increased from 3.4 million in July 2024 to 3.9 million in July 2025. MTA adds there was less than one crime per million riders committed in the subway system in July 2025.
“We’re thrilled with NYPD Commissioner [Jessica] Tisch’s report that last month was the safest July in subway history, excluding the pandemic,” said MTA Chief Security Officer Michael Kemper. “Not only that, transit crime is down year-to-date, led by a drop in overall assaults, even as more riders return to the system.”
MTA notes the improvements come more than a year after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and the MTA unveiled a Five Point Plan for Subway Safety, which included increasing police presence in stations and on platforms, installing security cameras in every subway car, implementing bag checks and deploying subway co-response outreach homeless outreach teams to connect individuals with severe mental illness to treatment and supportive housing, among other initiatives.
“It’s clear that efforts to increase overnight patrols, deploy thousands more security cameras and expand mental health outreach are having real positive impacts,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “By working closely with Gov. Hochul and the NYPD, we’re making sure the transit system not only is safe, but feels safe for our six million daily riders.”
MTA says recent security measures also include the expansion of overnight patrols to place two uniformed police officers onboard every subway train from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m; the ongoing installation of protective barriers on platforms, upgrading fare gates and delaying egress at emergency exits to help crack down on fare evasion; and adding LED lighting throughout the system to increase visibility.
Since Jan. 1, 2025, the MTA has installed more than 200 additional cameras across 40 subway stations. LED lights have been installed in a total of 362 stations, with all 472 stations expected to be converted by the end of this year. Additionally, platform barriers have been installed at 65 stations, with the MTA on track to install platform barriers at 100 subway stations across Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx by the end of 2025.