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Officials: Subway Crime On The Rise In New York City

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - All of those cellphones and portable gadgets are proving to be catnip to thieves.

Officials say 1,000 subway riders have been the victims of larceny from January to August this year. During the same period last year, 787 people were robbed.

Riders tell 1010 WINS' Terry Sheridan about crimes they've witnessed on the subways

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According to Owen Monaghan, assistant chief with the NYPD's Transit Bureau, 46 percent of all crime in the subway system takes place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

"You would think we're back in the 80s all over again," one straphanger told 1010 WINS' Terry Sheridan.

As part of Operation Total Impact, the NYPD is going to flood the subway system with both uniformed and undercover officers -- especially over the weekend -- to try to reverse the 17 percent jump in crime on the rails.

Thieves have been particularly focused on stealing electronic devices, but that's not the only type of crime going down underground. Just last week, there was a robbery and sex assault on the F train in Brooklyn and a suspected female slasher attacking woman riding on the 4 train in the Bronx.

The statistics were revealed just as cell phone service was becoming available at four subway stops.

Do you feel safe on the subway? Sound off in our comments section.

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