New York is expanding bag checks on the subway. How is this legal?

Officials have deployed thousands of armed police and national guard troops into the system. Critics fear a new era of profiling

It's a common fear in New York City: the random subway attack, when a commuter gets assaulted, mugged or pushed on to the track. The prospect is terrifying. It's also, statistically speaking, probably not going to happen to you, especially in 2024.

Though more transit workers are being attacked on the job nationwide (not just in New York), NYPD data shows that major felonies in the subway system were lower last year than in 2022. In January 2024, transit crime increased 46% year-over-year, then dipped in February.