NYPD Releases Some Fare Evasion Data, but Advocates Says Not Enough

After nearly a year of skirting a city law that required it to release the number of summonses for fare evasion at subway stations, the NYPD released some of the data this week.

The data, which covers the nine months ending in June, shows that people of color received more summons and arrests than whites. For example: from April to June this year, the NYPD issued 1,692 summons to black and Hispanic people compared to 636 to whites.

But the data is only for the top 10 busiest subway stations in the city.

City Councilman Rory Lancman has a lawsuit to force the NYPD to release data for all 472 stations, which is still working its way through the judicial system.

“The data the police department released today is nothing more than a smokescreen that undermines both the letter and the spirit of the law. We will continue to fight this battle in Court,” Lancman said in a statement.

Lancman said the public will know for certain whether the police are disproportionately targeting people of color once all the data is released.

The NYPD responded with its own statement: "Ensuring the safety of all New Yorkers comes first, and we posted data that satisfies the intent of the legislation while taking into account security concerns."