About a thousand National Guard members and New York State troopers began arriving in New York City Subway stations this week. The move was Gov. Kathy Hochul’s response to a string of high profile violent crimes on the transit system, even while crime stats have begun to trend downward on trains.
The added personnel are conducting mandatory bag checks at busy subway stations, though the governor declined to say for how long.
Henry Smart III, assistant professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, joined WNYC’s All Things Considered this week to walk us through the implications. The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Sean Carlson: Professor, do we know how effective something like mandatory bag checks are at driving down subway crime?
Henry Smart: I wouldn’t say we would know it in every scenario, in every context. I think what’s important is that there is a show that the state and the city are interested in addressing the problem. The question is, is it proportional to the conditions? Uh, and I think that’s where you’re seeing some of the fanfare and the news coverage where you hear about the military coming into the underground system.
It signals extra. And I think that’s what we’re concerned about is — is it necessary? And were there other creative ways to use what we already have in place to meet the goals of both the government as well as the concerns of the citizens? How much of this is a matter of psychology more than anything else?
When the governor rolled the plan out, she was very clear that she was appealing to the emotions and the feelings, which you don’t often hear from politicians, but maybe some consultation with citizens and asking them what do they need to feel safe in a very broad way.
If you don’t have the ability to send folks out to talk to Everyday Joe and Jane, then you need to at least consult professionals that work in behavioral health and understand the human psyche in a way that we’re not going…
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