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NYPD: Seriously, People, Stop Falling Asleep On The Subway!
By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 30, 2012
Modified Mar 30, 2012
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 30, 2012
Modified Mar 30, 2012
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Who hasn't succumbed to Subwaysomnia at some point in their lives? It happens to the best of us. There you are, drifting back and forth by the subway door when the urge overtakes you—and look, some open seats for you to lie down upon for a moment! It's no big deal, right? Wrong. The NYPD think you're very wrong. And they're gonna keep waking you up until you get the message.
The NYPD has been warning straphangers about recent increases in subway crimes: there's been a 23% rise in subway crimes over the first three months of the year. And in the last four weeks, 32% of grand larceny victims were ripped off after falling asleep.
Police are particularly concerned about "subway creepers"—professional thieves who target sleeping passengers and steal their valuables without waking them up. “One of the issues we’re seeing in the Rockaways lately is people waking up at 2 o’clock in the morning, 3 o’clock in the morning — their pockets are cut,” NYPD Transit Capt. Michael Telfer told residents at a community meeting in the Rockaways.
So until they're actually able to bar criminals from using the subway, the NYPD wants you to heed the advice of Petula Clark and stop sleeping on the train. Hopefully they've already stressed this point to their own sleep-deprived officers.
Tagged
cops
nypd
pick pockets
police
sleep
subway
subway creepers
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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