Crime rates on public transport are falling in New York and Minneapolis

Two years after implementing a plan to improve public transit conditions, Minneapolis Metro Transit is seeing a decrease in reported crimes while increasing ridership.

The agency says that comparing the second quarter of 2024 to the second quarter of 2023, reported crime decreased by 17.5 percent, while passenger numbers increased by nine percent compared to the first half of 2024 to the first half of 2023.

“There has been a sustained and focused effort across the organization to make our system safer and more welcoming for transit riders and employees,” said Metro Transit CEO Lesley Kandaras. “We clearly hear that there is more work to be done, but are encouraged by the progress we are making.”

Action plan

Metro Transit's Safety and Security Action Plan, approved by the Met Council in June 2022, includes more than 40 “action points.”

The plan’s key measures included:

• Introducing Transit Rider Investment Program (TRIP) officers to assist riders and monitor fare compliance on the light rail system. An additional 22 TRIP officers will be hired by the end of September.
• Contracts with 10 community-based organizations whose representatives offer resources to riders with issues such as substance abuse, homelessness and mental illness. According to Metro Transit, the agencies contacted about 6,700 people last year and made referrals to about 3,800 people.
• Providing resilience, de-escalation and crisis intervention training to hundreds of bus and rail operators.
• Revise and prominently display the rules for passengers at all light rail and bus rapid transit stops and introduce a campaign called “Take Pride in Your Ride” to encourage respectful behaviour on public transport.
• Hiring additional staff to regularly clean buses, trains and public facilities.

From April to June 2024, the police documented 397 cases of smoking, drug or alcohol offenses, according to the authority, an increase of 50 percent compared to the same period in 2023.

The increase is mainly due to targeted measures to combat smoking on board.

New York numbers declining

According to data released last month by the New York Police Department (NYPD), crime on the city's subway system fell 15 percent in June 2024 compared to the same period last year.

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

The drop in crime is attributed to the addition of 1,000 police officers to patrol the subway system since February and the introduction of “Operation Fare Play” in March, which targets passengers who do not pay their fare when entering the network.

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