BREAKING: New York deploys National Guard to 'conduct bag checks' in NYC subways

New York Governor Kathy Hochul intends to deploy 1,000 National Guard, state police and MTA officers to search bags of subway riders in the New York City transit system.

Her Wednesday announcement revealed that this plan is intended for "the city's busiest transit stations." She made the announcement on X, talking about the "brazen heinous attacks on our subway system," and said they "would not be tolerated."

This deployment is part of a 5-point plan to address subway safety. She intends to deploy nearly 1,000 law enforcement to "conduct bag checks," she said, and introduced a "leadership team" to assist with these subway safety efforts. This will comprise 750 National Guard as well as 250 additional law enforcement. They will be set up to check bags for "deadly weapons" at "checkpoints."

She proposed a change to New York law to prevent those convicted of violent crimes against passengers from riding the transit system at all. She compared this to a DWI where those convicted of driving while impaired are prevented from driving.

Hochul said that district attorneys need to prosecute repeat offenders and that this needs further coordination between agencies. A new, "early warning system" will need to be put in place, Hochul said, so that decisions on "charging and bail" can be made. MTA police and DAs will be made to work together for "accountability." "I need the judges to uphold their end of the bargain," Hochul said.

Hochul also addressed safety for transit workers and said that more cameras would be installed. This comes after a transit worker was slashed by a rider.

The Subway Co-Response Outreach Teams, SCOUT, will also be deployed to deal with those in need of mental health treatment in the subway systems.

This comes as violent crime on subways has increased drastically over the past few years. There have already been 3 murders in the subway system in 2024, which means that the city is already on track to outpace last year's killings in the system.

In fact, more people have been killed on the Metropolitan Transit System since 2020 than in all previous 15 years. The NYPD has said that they have concerns about the safety of the system due to this uptick in violent crime rates.

There have been 32 murders on subways since the start of 2020, both on trains and in stations. Between 2005 and 2019, there were only 31 total. 2023 saw five murders on the MTA. 

"Look, our cops are out there, they're visible," Michael Kemper, NYPD Transit Chief, said. "Our riders, I know they see them. [Officers are] riding trains, they're on platforms, they're engaging with acts of lawlessness every single day."