Trains See Marked Increase in Major Crime

Although Connecticut is in the midst of a downswing in rates of felony level crimes, the level of felonies reported on the Metro-North Railroad is up from the previous year by 21 percent according to a report released by a committee of the railroad in July of this year.

The MTA (Metro Transportation Authority) says that the findings presented by the report are initial estimates only and need more analysis and refinement.

Since the beginning of this year, the report says, a total of 81 major crimes have occurred on the railroad. These crimes include 10 robberies, 5 assaults, 12 burglaries, 53 grand larcenies and 1 motor vehicle theft. This is compared to the total of major crimes on the railroad for last year of 67, including 1 rape, 9 robberies, 7 assaults, 3 burglaries, 43 grand larcenies and 4 motor vehicle thefts. 19 of the 81 crimes occurred in June, including 1 robbery, 5 burglaries and thirteen grand larcenies. Based on these numbers, in the current year, the railroad has experienced 0.63 crimes per day.

In comparison, railroads in Long Island and Staten Island have a total number of major crimes for the year of 12 and 2 respectively.