This past Sunday morning, a tragic event on the New York subway saw a woman tragically set on fire, resulting in her death. This incident adds to a series of high-profile crimes in the biggest city in the country. However, officials maintain that overall crime rates in New York, including on public transport, have declined.

On Monday, police began investigating the motive behind the woman being set ablaze on a Brooklyn subway train around 7:30 a.m. New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch condemned the act as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could commit against another.”

Earlier that same morning, another violent incident occurred at a Queens subway station where a 37-year-old man was fatally stabbed and a 26-year-old man suffered multiple slashes to his body shortly after midnight. The former was declared dead after being taken to a hospital, and police have detained a 26-year-old suspect.

The city is still reeling from the December 4 shooting death of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson, who was shot outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel as he was attending a conference. The alleged shooter, Luigi Mangione, entered a plea of not guilty to murder and terrorism charges on Monday morning.

Additionally, this month, a jury found Daniel Penny not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely, a homeless man known for impersonating Michael Jackson. Neely had been aggressively shouting at passengers on a train when Penny placed him in a chokehold for several minutes.

NYPD reports a decline in crime rates across the city and subway

According to a news release on December 3, the New York Police Department (NYPD) indicated that overall crime rates in the city dropped: major crimes decreased by 1.9% in 2023, and there was a total crime index reduction of 5.7% in November.

Furthermore, the NYPD stated that subway-related crimes decreased by 15.8% in November and 6.3% compared to the previous year.

Authorities credit increased train patrols for the crime rate decrease

The NYPD attributes the reduction in crime to a significant decrease in murders, robberies, burglaries, grand thefts, and vehicle thefts.

Officials with the NYPD believe that enhanced patrols, strategic personnel deployment and a sustained focus on illegal firearms, gang activities, and public order offenses—such as fare evasion—have contributed to these crime declines.

This year, New York Governor Kathy Hochul deployed hundreds of National Guard troops and State Troopers to assist in subway patrols following an incident where a conductor was attacked on a train in Brooklyn.