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In a recent announcement, New York City Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the return of bag checks on the subway as part of a broader strategy to combat crime.

During a press briefing on Tuesday, he stated, “We are reinstituting bag checks,” emphasizing that this move is one of several measures being reintroduced to enhance safety. The implementation of these checks is scheduled to commence in “a week or so,” aiming to provide an immediate response to concerns about subway security.

This decision comes in the wake of an incident last month at a subway station, where a shooting resulted in one fatality and five injuries. The violence arose from a conflict between two groups of teenagers. NYPD’s Chief of Transit, Michael Kemper, clarified, “We don’t believe this was a random shooting. We do not believe that this was an individual indiscriminately firing into a train or a train station.”

In conjunction with Mayor Adams’s announcement, Governor Kathy Hochul unveiled a comprehensive five-point subway safety plan. Aimed at deterring crime and ensuring the protection of New Yorkers, the plan involves deploying nearly 1,000 law enforcement officers for bag checks at key transit locations. Additionally, Hochul proposed a legislative change that would authorize courts to prohibit individuals convicted of violent crimes against passengers from using the subway or buses.

In a statement, Governor Hochul said, “I’m not here today to talk to you about numbers and tell you stats and statistics about what’s going up or what’s going down, I’m here to take action.”