Are you a New Yorker worried about crime in the subway system? Worried that a violent criminal may assault you and be out on the street within hours?
Don’t worry, because New York Democrats have the solution for you. No, not more police. More cameras! Cameras on every subway car, to be exact. Now, when you’re assaulted, we will have the whole thing on camera (and then the man who assaulted you will be out on the street within hours).
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul boasted that this would help make the “subways safer for riders,” a bold statement given that the process of fitting more than 6,500 subway cars with cameras won’t be complete until 2024. But the bigger question is what will New York do after an assault (or any other crime) is caught on camera on the subway system?
Probably not much, given that the state has fitted its jails with revolving doors as criminals with rap sheets longer than CVS receipts compete for the record of who can be arrested the most times and get out of jail immediately in New York (if you’re curious, the current leader has 41 arrests).
The cameras may not do anything to deter crime, nor will they convince New York Democrats that the criminals committing crimes on camera belong in jail, but it will help someone: criminals. After all, if they aren’t going to be put behind bars no matter what they do, they might as well use the camera footage to compile their own highlight reel, like high school football players.
So, you’re a New Yorker who doesn’t feel safe riding the subway and wants criminals who attack people on the subway system to go to jail. New York can’t promise you safety, nor can it agree that thugs belong behind bars, but hey, at least the video of your assault will get featured on Fox News. It’s not the easiest way to get on television, but it’s something.
