Crime rates fall on public transit in New York and Minneapolis

Two years after implementing a plan to improve conditions on public transport, Minneapolis Metro Transit is seeing a decline in reported crimes along with increased ridership.

The agency says that when comparing the second quarter of 2024 to the second quarter of 2023, reported crime was down 17.5 percent, while ridership increased by nine percent from the first half of 2024 to the first half of 2023.

“Across the organisation, there has been a sustained and deliberate effort to make our system safer and more welcoming to riders and frontline transit workers,” said Metro Transit General Manager Lesley Kandaras. “We hear clearly that there is more work to be done but are encouraged by the progress we’re making.”

Action plan

Metro Transit’s Safety & Security Action Plan – which was endorsed by the Met Council in June 2022 –includes more than 40 “action items”.

The plan’s main measures have included:

• The introduction of Transit Rider Investment Program (TRIP) agents who ride light-rail vehicles to assist customers and monitor fare compliance. Another 22 TRIP agents will be hired by the end of September.
• Contracting with 10 community-based organisations whose representatives offer resources to riders facing issues like substance-abuse disorders, unsheltered homelessness and mental illness. During the past year, Metro Transit says the agencies have connected with around 6,700 individuals and made around 3,800 referrals.
• Providing resiliency, de-escalation and crisis intervention training to hundreds of bus and train operators.
• Revising and prominently posting rules for passengers at all light-rail and bus rapid transit stations and introducing a ‘Take Pride in Your Ride’ campaign, encouraging respectful behaviour on transit.
• Hiring more staff to regularly clean buses, trains and public facilities.

From April through June 2024, the agency says police documented 397 instances of smoking, drug or alcohol-related offences, a 50 percent increase compared to the same time in 2023.

The increase has primarily been attributed to a targeted push to combat onboard smoking.

New York figures down

Last month, data released by the New York Police Department (NYPD) showed crime on the city’s subway network was down 15 percent in June 2024 when compared to the same period last year.

From 1 January 2024 through the third week of July there was an 8 percent drop in major crimes compared to the same period last year, with a 23 percent decrease in robberies.

The reduction in crime has been attributed to an additional 1,000 police officers patrolling the subway system since February, and the introduction of “Operation Fare Play” in March which cracked down on passengers not paying their fare when entering the network.

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