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NYPD Transit Chief: Subway Crime Rose 36 Percent In January

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- If you're under the impression subway crime is on the rise, you're right -- and the numbers back that up.

"For the first month of 2016, major felony crime was up 36 percent within the transit system," NYPD Transit Chief Joseph Fox said.

According to Fox, the number of attacks has more than tripled, WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported.

"Twelve of the felony assaults in January were stabbing or slashing incidents, which understandably caused concern among our subway riders," Fox said.

That's why there are now more police patrols in the MTA's transit system, Haskell reported.

"Our latest deployment plan includes saturating the transit system with uniformed officers, including officers from local precincts," Fox said.

Fox also pointed out that arrests have been made in 70 percent of subway crimes.

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