Governor Hochul calls out the National Guard to police the NYC subways
Remember when the NY Times staff was outraged because the paper published a Tom Cotton editorial supporting the idea of using the National Guard to quell some of the post-Floyd riots in American cities in 2020? Well, now that a Democrat, Governor Hochul of New York, has done the same for the New York subway system, it seems to be perfectly okay with the Times.
And remember how awful and how racist New York’s stop-and-frisk policy was deemed to be? Opposition to that policy helped lead to the election of leftist Bill de Blasio. But the summer of 2020, with its violence as well as its anti-police atmosphere, has contributed to many resignations within the NYC police force, a situation the current Mayor Adams has described as “a law enforcement crisis.”
Enter Hochul with the equivalent of stop-and-frisk for all who enter the subways in certain high-traffic stations. Well, at least it’s not just suspicious people they will search, right? Here’s some information (and by the way, the right-leaning NY Post’s article was number 31 in the Google list when I checked, instead of much higher up where it should be as one of New York City’s largest periodicals):
“Governor Hochul has made historic commitments to make our subways safer, from security cameras to mental health personnel,” a rep for the governor said in a statement. “Tomorrow, she will unveil new legislation to protect riders, new state personnel to assist NYPD with bag checks, and other new measures to keep New Yorkers safe.”
The heightened focus on subway violence comes as The Post exclusively revealed last week that underground crime skyrocketed months after the number of transit cops on patrol had plummeted to levels not seen since Mayor Bill de Blasio was in power.
Meanwhile, subway crime rates surged in the first two months of this year alone, spiking by nearly 20% compared to this time last year, the latest NYPD stats show – largely driven by increases in grand larcenies, felony assaults and robberies.
The mayor — who just last week said the NYPD would be moving to 12-hour tours in the system — has previously blamed the crime spike on the city’s rollback of its 2022 subway safety plan, which saw the number of cops underground dwindle when state funding dried up.
And here are some details of the methods proposed:
Here’s what Hochul’s five-point plan entails:
Influx of 1,000 National Guardsmen, state and MTA cops.
Law to allow judges to ban transit assault perps from trains, buses.
Install CCTV cameras in all train cars, conductor cabins.
Better coordination between NYPD and district attorneys to thwart recidivists.
$20 million to expand Subway Co-Response Outreach mental health teams.
As for the bag checks:
In an interview on WPIX-11 Wednesday along with Chief Michael Kemper, head of the NYPD Transit Bureau, Adams insisted the new bag checks would not lead to racial or ethnic profiling.
“We’re not profiling, we’re random based on the count, a number,” the mayor said. “And people who don’t want their bag checks can turn around and not enter the system. You don’t have to come through and do the bag checks, but they are random.”
So let’s inconvenience everyone so there’s no accusation of racism, and let’s just check for weapons so that law-abiding citizens can’t have them either for defense. I can’t even imagine how this bag check thing would work at rush hour. And of course bag checks for weapons will do nothing to stop weaponless crimes involving, for example, pushing people into the paths of trains, or beatings.
And how will the banning of transit assault perpetrators from public transportation be accomplished? And what will courts have to say about that?
A clearer example of anarcho-tyranny could hardly be had. Allow crime to run rampant and then sic the police on the law-abiding. The governor’s innovation here is to use the national guard for the tyranny instead of the actual police.
mkent:
Well put.
And if people don’t like it, says Adams, just don’t take the subway. That is a huge hardship for New Yorkers; the subway is often by far the best way to get around.
Sick City is NYC—I’d choose prison again over living there. Try to defend yourself and/or others – end up like former U.S. Marine sergeant Daniel Penny. Law in NYC doesn’t even know the difference between a neckhold and a chokehold. Penny is basically accused of killing Jordan Neely with a chokehold, but a person in a chokehold will pass out in less than 10-seconds. Penny had Neely in a neckhold – which is why Neely was able to struggle for so long.
Biden has allowed thousands of military aged Islamic males into the US, and odds grow higher everyday that one of them ends up with a bomb in one of those subways during rush hour…
May we hope for a figurative international ban symbol over an abbreviated “Trans” or “T” (standing for “transportation”, [wink wink]) branded with a hot iron right smack dab in the middle of the offenders’ foreheads? Or izzat too medieval for NY, NY?
And if Trump at any time either during his time as President or now, he would be branded as dangerous, anti democratic, and racist.
The stop and frisk policy was, I think, a good tool to reduce potential crime. BUT what the police ended up enforcing were more of the really stupid laws in NY. Workers with tools stopped because they had a cutting tool. I watched a video where a cop spent 10 minutes trying to get a pocket knife to flip open.
The broken windows policy and anti loitering policies did a lot to reduce crime. It made neighborhoods safer and better places to live. It grates a bit because FREEDOM, but the results were there. I’ve lived in places where friendly drinking turned violent the more time passed.
Oh, and those National Guard soldiers? I’ll bet good money that the weapons they will carry will not be loaded.
What are the rules of engagement for when the National Guard encounter violent criminals?
Kate-They most likely will be told to call the Transit Police.
The Dems seem to really like Security Theatre.
Hochul takes the view that the problem isn’t crime, but NYers’ “feeling” that crime is a problem. So she proposes window dressing so that people might feel better. Never mind the fact that crime is up significantly relative to five years ago. It’s all about feelings.
Jimmy:
I don’t see why bag checks for weapons would be reassuring. It would do away with any deterrence value of the possibility of a good guy with a weapon.
Comments pointing out the lack of effectiveness of the methods the governor is implementing miss the point. It’s secondarily about the optics of appearing to ‘do something’ but mainly about introducing the public to their new military overseers. Sieg heil!
Gemini’s image generation isn’t the only place Google curates their prompts.
Hochul didn’t have any choice other than the National Guard!
https://babylonbee.com/news/with-daniel-penny-arrested-nyc-forced-to-deploy-national-guard-to-protect-subway
Shoe, meet other foot.
Their lack of self-awareness is staggering.
They(the Democrats) cannot get around the optics which are terrible.