Current Events > Is it really more dangerous to ride the NYC subway system than it's ever been?

(+) Yeah! (+)

not from there but here about crimes and stuff on that subway system more than i've ever heard it in the news. Could just be a media, thing. Where the terrible stories get huge media attention

dunno

No

I've never had any issues being on the subway the times I've been, and I'm one of the most anxious people ever.

Originally lived in NY. Had a fear of being locked in a subway car with a crazy with a gun, then today I heard someone did bring out a gun in the subway.

RISEofCHRISTIAN posted...

Originally lived in NY. Had a fear of being locked in a subway car with a crazy with a gun, then today I heard someone did bring out a gun in the subway.

kinda surprising it doesn't happen more often, sadly

bump

I've lived in NYC my whole life, I rode on the subway everyday for 10 years, and still ride it occasionally when meeting with friends. Nothing serious has ever happened to me or anyone I know.

That doesn't mean it's "safe" but I don't know anything that would say it's less safe now than it's been in the past.

I would think it was less safe in the 70s and 80s, but to be fair that too could be just how the media portrayed it, maybe it was the same, maybe it was better I honestly don't know the truth.

I was in LA a few months and one of the few times I rode the subway there the police stormed the subway car and pulled someone off. In all my years riding NYC subways that has never happened. So the fact that the police had to do that in LA, does that means LA subways are less safe, or the fact that they reacted so quickly means they are more safe? I don't know.

hmnut7 posted...

I've lived in NYC my whole life, I rode on the subway everyday for 10 years, and still ride it occasionally when meeting with friends. Nothing serious has ever happened to me or anyone I know.

That doesn't mean it's "safe" but I don't know anything that would say it's less safe now than it's been in the past.

I would think it was less safe in the 70s and 80s, but to be fair that too could be just how the media portrayed it, maybe it was the same, maybe it was better I honestly don't know the truth.

I was in LA a few months and one of the few times I rode the subway there the police stormed the subway car and pulled someone off. In all my years riding NYC subways that has never happened. So the fact that the police had to do that in LA, does that means LA subways are less safe, or the fact that they reacted so quickly means they are more safe? I don't know.

la has huge subway ridership? i thought like less than 1 percent of la people use subway. Like over half of new yorkers do right? huge difference in numbers. Supposedly traffic in la is even worse than nyc because of this. Never been to la though.

TommyVercetti posted...

la has huge subway ridership? i thought like less than 1 percent of la people use subway. Like over half of new yorkers do right? huge difference in numbers. Supposedly traffic in la is even worse than nyc because of this. Never been to la though.

I have no clue. I didnt know LA had a subway until I was on it. I only compare it to NYC in that Ive rode our subways everyday for years no issues (well crime), rode the LA subway like 4 times police came on the subway car like stormtroopers

hmnut7 posted...

I have no clue. I didnt know LA had a subway until I was on it. I only compare it to NYC in that Ive rode our subways everyday for years no issues (well crime), rode the LA subway like 4 times police came on the subway car like stormtroopers

any idea what that guy did ?

hmnut7 posted...

I would think it was less safe in the 70s and 80s, but to be fair that too could be just how the media portrayed it, maybe it was the same, maybe it was better I honestly don't know the truth.

Maybe the media was lying to me, but I was under the impression that, in the 70s, mugging was so common, that it happened to just about everybody at least once.

No.

Not even close

It's media sensationalism being stoked and eaten up by paranoids who don't even live there.

In the age of the internet, any random crime anecdote is repeated as typical.

Especially online. But the old media repeats it more now too for relevance

No. I didn't think people realize how dangerous cities like NYC actually were in the 70-90's

TommyVercetti posted...

any idea what that guy did ?

None at all, which is why it was jarring. Maybe he jumped the turnstile maybe he murdered a family of 9, they came in from several doors, talked to him for second and then grabbed him and took him off the train.

This is as bad as its been lately, basically. But as someone noted, 70s-90s were WAY worse.

I never had a problem with the subway, ride it multiple times a week and usually around the late night hours.

Was it ever dangerous? I mean millions use it daily.

ClayGuida posted...

Was it ever dangerous? I mean millions use it daily.

YES

Cant speak for NYC but Ive seen some fucked up things on the Chicago L train like homeless people taking shits and addicts doing drugs but nothing ever life threatening to myself.

The NY department of transportation put out statistics at the same time they announced they were going to be increasing police presence on the subway that showed that while overall City crime is down, Transit crime is up by double digit percentages and is the worst it's been in a decade.

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/newyork/news/police-suspect-bashed-man-over-the-head-with-a-metal-pipe-at-queens-subway-station/

Since the beginning of the year, there has been a 22.6% increase in subway crime: 266 incidents, compared to 217 in the same period of time in 2023.

That's not all. CBS New York Investigates has analyzed data from the last several years. It shows New Yorkers are reporting nearly three times as many felony assaults on the subway since 2022 than they were a decade ago, and about 46% more assaults than in 2019, the last year before the pandemic.

No. Just chill but be alert. Never a dull moment on the subway.

s0nicfan posted...

266 incidents, compared to 217 in the same period of time in 2023.

Jfc

Do we realize how small this is? There's like what, 8 million people in NYC, and millions use the subway daily and you're talking .75 incidents a day?

ClayGuida posted...

Jfc

Do we realize how small this is? There's like what, 8 million people in NYC, and millions use the subway daily and you're talking .75 incidents a day?

Sure, but keep in mind this is about things like felony assault. If it was all crime that would be one thing, but saying something like "well we should be pretty lucky that only one person gets beaten with a pipe per day in the New York city subway" is still not really a frequency we should be comfortable with.

https://abc7ny.com/amp/subway-crime-nyc-statistics-assault/14381702/

According to the NYPD, there were 570 reports of felony assault on trains or in stations in 2023, that's the highest number in more than 20 years and a 53% jump from pre-pandemic levels.
In 2019, there were only 373 felony assaults reported.

In 2024 so far, there have been 53 assaults reported, compared to just 40 this time last year.

It is when you look at rates. 1 in 4 million is a pretty low fucking number. That's nearing lottery range.

ClayGuida posted...

It is when you look at rates. 1 in 4 million is a pretty low fucking number. That's nearing lottery range.

agreed.

have to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. unlucky occurrence.
though the odd's aren't any better if go at night or 3am.

I'm guessing the people dismissing the subway crime numbers as a small percentage have never been a victim of a NYC subway crime.

I have to imagine a lot of people don't report the crimes and just go on with day. Im in NYC and just yesterday a guy was standing by the door during rush hour and people were pushing him as they got off. He got into an argument with one of the people and punched them. I checked the news and that didn't even make the news. I imagine more minor stuff like this happen and goes unreported.

Yep. Most stuff never gets reported. Anyone dismissive of subway crime must have limited real life experiences under their belt.

CreekCo posted...

Yep. Most stuff never gets reported. Anyone dismissive of subway crime must have limited real life experiences under their belt.

Yea I think the stuff that makes the news is people being pushed on the tracks, shootings, and fights which last long enough to be recorded which then go viral and make the news.

Sometimes arguments go on for several minutes and you know it likely to escalate into a fight which people start recording for. But in my experiences most fights/arguments tend to be over in 1-2 minutes.

One moment a couple years ago I found kinda interesting was a guy was putting someone in a chokehold and bystanders were telling him to stop. It not worth a murder charge and he let go. This was years before that other chokehold which got recorded and led to a death happened. I think people were aware if the dude killed someone this could make them late for work. So they were like 10 different people trying to diffuse the situation.

BlueTigerLion posted...

I'm guessing the people dismissing the subway crime numbers as a small percentage have never been a victim of a NYC subway crime.

I have to imagine a lot of people don't report the crimes and just go on with day. Im in NYC and just yesterday a guy was standing by the door during rush hour and people were pushing him as they got off. He got into an argument with one of the people and punched them. I checked the news and that didn't even make the news. I imagine more minor stuff like this happen and goes unreported.

Yes I haven't been a victim, because as I stated, it's one in a million or so of it happening. Nearly all subway riders can attest to the same.

And You think something like that would make the news?

'Man gets punched for shoving man' is barely even a gamefaqs post let alone a news report.

ClayGuida posted...

It is when you look at rates. 1 in 4 million is a pretty low fucking number. That's nearing lottery range.

Think of it this way. Multiple, perhaps dozens of assaults/ violent crimes take place on NYC subways each day. Even if you are not a victim yourself, theres a significant chance you will witness one of these crimes. Its not even close to lottery odds territory.

Im pulling numbers out of my ass here, but Im willing to bet the odds of witnessing or being victimized by crime each day on the NYC subway is closer to 1 in 10,000 than it is 1 in 4 million.

As I was typing a post in this thread I just remembered two classic NYC subway situations.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/YyGKzWGEjUU

https://twitter.com/BicepOsorio/status/1229796646499815426

I feel like you would ride on the subway and complain when you got assaulted that no one warned you it was dangerous.

I don't live in NY but I find it hard to believe it's worse now than the late 80s when NY was legendary for being unsafe.

Unless i'm a victim of propaganda.

clyde_frog posted...

Think of it this way. Multiple, perhaps dozens of assaults/ violent crimes take place on NYC subways each day. Even if you are not a victim yourself, theres a significant chance you will witness one of these crimes. Its not even close to lottery odds territory.

Im pulling numbers out of my ass here, but Im willing to bet the odds of witnessing or being victimized by crime each day on the NYC subway is closer to 1 in 10,000 than it is 1 in 4 million.

Sure, change the parameters and things change, obviously.

The point is, fear mongering about how dangerous subways are, then cite statistics where there's fewer than 300 violent attacks, or 500 altercations a year and it's astonishingly low.

I guarantee a season of football at any stadium gets just as many incidents as this, and that's 10-12 events a year.

The point is, when this many people are this densely packed, shits gonna happen, but these numbers are startlingly low, considering there's now a half dozen posters claiming it's incredibly dangerous to ride one.

In short stop fear mongering this bullshit.

clyde_frog posted...

Think of it this way. Multiple, perhaps dozens of assaults/ violent crimes take place on NYC subways each day. Even if you are not a victim yourself, theres a significant chance you will witness one of these crimes. Its not even close to lottery odds territory.

Im pulling numbers out of my ass here, but Im willing to bet the odds of witnessing or being victimized by crime each day on the NYC subway is closer to 1 in 10,000 than it is 1 in 4 million.

Agreed at least the deaths are limited. Imagine if it was like mass shootings. Which also a small percentage of crime with the millions of people in the US.

Im surprised more mass shootings don't happen on public transit. Since there is literally no one checking if you have a gun or not before you board a train/bus.

Looking at statistics and hearing peoples stories I would say it was lot more dangerous at certain areas in the 60s, 70s or 80s

I think stating that crime is low doesn't mean you're dismissing the crime that does happen. People are going to be influenced by what they see or hear despite those things happening at low percentages, so it's good to at least push back a bit and give some perspective.

But this is why I kinda think we should have more safety/security theatre in some places. The appearance of more cops will deter some bad social behaviors, but even if it doesn't, it can give people the sense of safety, real or not.

emblem-man posted...

I think stating that crime is low doesn't mean you're dismissing the crime that does happen. People are going to be influenced by what they see or hear despite those things happening at low percentages, so it's good to at least push back a bit and give some perspective.

But this is why I kinda think we should have more safety/security theatre in some places. The appearance of more cops will deter some bad social behaviors, but even if it doesn't, it can give people the sense of safety, real or not.

the cops are already fake enough we dont need out of work actors dressed like cops wandering around

I just got home a moment ago and got into a little moment in the subway just now. >_> Some homeless guy started shouting at me because according to them I was looking at them and I was too close to them. I was on my phone and in the other side of the car (we were the only 2 people there)

I was going to say something back but I didn't want to risk anything and let them talk their shit. Luckily the next stop was the one I was getting off at. Still though 10+ years of riding the subway and this was the first moment I had. Coming after I just posted here saying that I never had a problem riding it during these hours. Can't make this shit up lol

crime in nyc was way, way worse in the 70s to early 80s.
they really cleaned the city up,
Look at Joker the movie, that was based on nyc during that time frame of how the city was

inTaCtfuL posted...

I just got home a moment ago and got into a little moment in the subway just now. >_> Some homeless guy started shouting at me because according to them I was looking at them and I was too close to them. I was on my phone and in the other side of the car (we were the only 2 people there)

I was going to say something back but I didn't want to risk anything and let them talk their shit. Luckily the next stop was the one I was getting off at. Still though 10+ years of riding the subway and this was the first moment I had. Coming after I just posted here saying that I never had a problem riding it during these hours. Can't make this shit up lol

yeah i have used it. Seen that before, some guy will get extremely mad if he thinks you are staring at them, getting too close, like super mad if you bump into them and even apologize. Many of these guys look like they have not kind of mental problem....etc....though.. You ever heard the rude new yorker stereotype, not sure if you believe it or not.....like new york people are more rude on avg than in other metro areas in u.s.

no