Deploy city’s auxiliary police to improve subway safety

Martin Alan Greenberg is a retired criminal justice professor AND past president of the Auxiliary Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York.

The NYPD Transit Bureau is responsible for the safety and security of the 3.6 million passengers who use the New York City subways each day. Providing police services for the busiest metropolitan rail system in the nation, members of the Transit Bureau patrol the subway's 25 lines, 472 stations and nearly 250 miles of passenger rail line. The bureau comprises 12 transit districts, each located within or adjacent to the subway system, and overseen by three borough commands: Manhattan, Brooklyn and Bronx/Queens.

In the fall of 1982, concerns about the safety of the city’s subway system led to the executive decision by Mayor Ed Koch to authorize all precinct commanders to commence the assignment of Auxiliary Police to posts on and around subway platforms, mezzanines and stairwells.  Previously, only auxiliaries from the 46th Precinct in the Bronx were assigned to five subway stations on an experimental basis. This practice became more universal in scope with the establishment of a voluntary “Auxiliary Police Transit Program” on July 21, 2005. 

Under the new program, each of the city’s 12 transit districts has its own auxiliary coordinator and unit. Consequently, the Auxiliary Police are now routinely assigned to present a uniformed presence throughout the city’s transit system for the protection of subway riders. These altruistic men and women are the eyes and ears for the NYPD and do not replace full-time officers. The volunteer officers provide greater flexibility by means of free labor and increased personnel that can be used to conduct a variety of non-core police duties, allowing for a larger number of sworn officers to be made available for their core duties.

This proposal calls upon the city to expand the use of auxiliaries to areas inside of subway cars. It is based on the idea that the omnipresence of qualified, trained and uniformed volunteer NYC Auxiliary Police officers is a proven concept for the deterrence of crime and disorder within the city’s subway system. The city’s existing program provides the members of the Transit Auxiliary Police Program with additional training conducted by the Transit Bureau Vandals Squad as well as the Counter-Terrorism Division. 

Furthermore, Transit Auxiliary officers are paired with either a regular police officer or Auxiliary Police officer, making inspections of subway stations and taking note of any suspicious occurrences. They may also set up a fixed post at the subway turnstiles, token booths, mezzanines, or platforms. If medically qualified, Transit Auxiliary Police officers can respond to medical emergencies if they are near to their transit location. The main function of the NYPD Transit Auxiliary Police, like the NYPD Transit Police, is to primarily remain within the subway system.

However, many of the Transit Auxiliary assignments are limited to evening hours and their assignment to subway cars has been generally prohibited. The organization of a specialized training program along with an appropriate recruiting campaign could result in a thousand or more auxiliaries having a uniformed presence throughout NYC’s subway system. 

The plan involves adding rush hours and other times for Auxiliary Police postings in subway cars and platforms. Such early morning and later afternoon assignments would become possible by establishing a computer-assisted program to make it possible for the auxiliaries to perform official duties in the subway system in full uniform at the very times during which they normally travel to and from their regular employment. 

In fact, cell service and WiFi within the subway system has vastly improved in recent years. Anyone can now alert the police or a NYC transit employee immediately if help is needed. On the other hand, the importance of reinforcing crime deterrence and hence the psychology around crime in New York City warrants the assistance of qualified and uniformed citizen police volunteers.

Many auxiliaries have been underutilized; however, their acceptance in communities throughout the city is a proven fact. The only impediments to implementing this plan include: official acceptance and implementation; the provision of the necessary training; and the purchase of the added equipment needed for this type of assignment. An urgent recruitment campaign would, of course, be needed.

In this way, many new recruits would be available to begin immediate training and that the ranks needed to fulfill the quota for this specialized force could be obtained. In the meantime, if you prefer to ride in the same car as the train conductor, locate the alternating black and white striped board overhead near the middle of the platform, this is where the conductor will be positioned on the next arriving train.