In March, Mayor Eric Adams urged district attorneys in New York City to prosecute fare evasion again.
“If we start saying it’s okay to jump the turnstile, we’re creating an environment where anything goes,” Adams said. “It’s a crime. Now, you can defer prosecution, you can put people on shows, you can do all sorts of things, but let’s not ignore it, and that’s what’s happening to our subway system.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office stopped prosecuting fee evaders in 2018 under the leadership of District Attorney Cyrus Vance, who said then that the criminal justice system had to focus on people who endanger public safety. and not in criminalizing systematically disadvantaged communities.
In 2018, the New York Police Department declined to disclose data on how it enforced fare evasion laws, despite a city law requiring the police to make this data public. Over the years, many observers have argued that these laws disproportionately target New York’s poorest citizens, typically Hispanic and black men from inner-city neighborhoods.
While jumping the turnstile is probably one of the most innocuous crimes to commit in New York, it has been the subject of a great deal of controversy over the years. Also known as “fare evasion,” jumping a turnstile in the Big Apple’s subway system is still, in fact, a crime.
That said, various initiatives have been promoted in recent years for the total decriminalization of this crime. So what consequences can a New Yorker expect if he’s been charged with fare evasion?
Jumping a turnstile is still technically a criminal offence, although the penalties are relatively light these days. It falls into the same general category as a parking ticket, which means you would be fined $100. However, you can appeal the decision and avoid paying the fine.
ARRESTS INCREASE FOR FARE EVASION
But the city’s focus might be changing, according to the latest NYPD statistics.
“We’re definitely paying more attention to misdemeanors,” New York Police Department Traffic Chief Jason Wilcox said during a Press conference.
Proponents of police reform argue that focusing on petty crimes like jumping turnstiles and drinking in public means more policing of broken windows, like Legal Aid noted in a statement after the NYPD unveiled its so-called quality of life initiative in March. Although the mayor insists that the resurrection of these strategies will be different from the eras of stop and frisk (Stop & Fresh) of the Giuliani and Bloomberg administrations.
“We’re not going to back down, but the city won’t back down on crime either,” said Adams about his initiatives. “That is the key here: it is the balance between justice and security.”
IN FIGURES
ARRESTS
- According to the number of arrests for fare evasion from the first quarter of 2022 of the NYPD, a total of 301 arrests have been made for fare evasion. Of that number, 71 are Hispanic, 195 black and 26 white, the majority between 25 and 40 years old. A similar number of 332 arrests was recorded in 2020.
- For him same period last year 209 arrests were recorded for fare evasion. Of that number, 64 were Hispanic, 128 were black, and 12 were white. Most between 25 and 40 years old.
CITATIONS
- The NYPD issued a total of 10,816 citations in the first quarter of 2022, mostly in Transit Districts 4 (Union Square Subway Station), 11 (161st Street/Yankee Stadium Station), 12 (Morris Park Avenue, The Bronx), 20 (Jamaica, Queens), and 32 (Brooklyn). Of those citations, 4,159 were issued to Hispanics; 3,225 to blacks and 1,846 to whites.
- For the same period last year, 11,577 citations were issuedmostly in Transit Districts 4 (Union Square Subway Station), 11 (161st Street/Yankee Stadium Station) and 12 (Morris Park Avenue, The Bronx).
MTA CALLS FOR EVADERS NOT TO GO TO JAIL
According to the MTA, 12% of subway riders and one in three bus riders do not pay for their fares. This number could translate to a total of $500 million in lost revenue this year alone.
The MTA found that subway fare evasion cost the agency $245 million, the most of any form of transportation. Fare evasion on buses cost $205 million, while toll evasion on bridges and tunnels cost $50 million and uncollected fares on rail cost $25 million. The transit agency said that, in total, the fare evasion cost them $525 million.
However, MTA President and CEO Janno Lieber said in april that he doesn’t want non-paying passengers to go to jail, adding that improved gates and stations can work as a stronger deterrent.
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