Making the Subway Safer With Fewer Police
A new report concludes that heavy police presence aboard public buses and trains has exacerbated racial disparities in law enforcement.
Police officers walk through the Union Square subway station on July 2, 2021. A new report advocates for a decreased focus on policing low-level offenses such as fare evasion or public sleeping, and an increase in unarmed personnel trained to respond to homelessness and mental health crises.
Photographer: Mark Kauzlarich/BloombergOne year after racial justice advocates worldwide took to the streets to protest police brutality, the debate about policing reform continues to top political agendas in the U.S. A new report spotlights how that conversation has extended to the nation’s public transit systems, showing how a few recent efforts to reduce police presence on buses and trains could serve as a guide to other cities.
Published Tuesday by New York City transit think tank TransitCenter, the report argues that heavy police presence aboard buses and trains has exacerbated racial disparities in law enforcement, and that there are better ways to promote public safety. The researchers advocate for a decreased focus on policing low-level offenses such as fare evasion or public sleeping, and an increase in unarmed personnel trained to respond to homelessness and mental health crises.