NYC subway performers arrests were ordered by the NYPD this week. Reports on the number of subway showmen who use the trains as moving stages are growing due to the NYC subway performers arrests.
Though these "pass-the-hat" performances make New York City's culture unique, the NYPD has ordered the NYC subway performers arrests on the people who do subway acrobatics for money.
According to police, the performances which involve flipping, somersaulting and pole-dancing in crowded vehicles only create a safety risks to passengers.
Because of the crackdown, the NYC subway performers arrests have now grown to more than 240 people this 2014 as compared to 40 arrests from last year.
The Associated Press reports that while not a major crime, the performances are against the law and can also set the tone for further lawlessness, said Police Commissioner William Bratton.
Bratton further detailed the reason for the NYC subway performers arrests, 'Is it a significant crime? Certainly not. Does it have the potential both for creating a level of fear as well as a level of risk that you want to deal with?'
Bratton also acknowledged his partiality towards the NYC subway performers arrests and said that the action is part of his embrace of the "broken windows" theory of policing, which posits that low-grade lawlessness can promote further disorder and bolster more dangerous delinquents.
Bratton said in May, 'As skilled as they may be, the potential risk to themselves and the public on a moving subway car that sways, moves, jolts is too great to ignore.'
NYPD spokesman Lt. Paul Ng said Tuesday regarding the NYC subway performers arrests, 'There's no new rule or edict within the department, it's just that enforcement has been on the rise.'
Meanwhile, USA Today reports that on the other side of the NYC subway performers arrests, the subway acrobats are defending themselves, saying that they simply want to entertain while making a living, not to mention putting a bit of variety to New York's routine of no-eye-contact commuting.
"City Lore", a group which works with the organization "Street Performers Advocacy Project", recently addressed the current rise in NYC subway performers arrests. According to CBS Local, City Lore posted a statement on their website saying that street and subway performers are necessary in New York. The group added that they believe in 'a society which allows many cultural traditions to coexist on equal footing and encourages active participation in cultural life, not just passive consumption of cultural products.'
Moving on to what the audience actually thinks of the performances, reports say that while some riders enjoy the show, not everyone approves of them. The AP reports that some people actually dislike being part of the subway performers' audience and they just see these shows as intrusion to their daily commute.
Reports say that police decided on the crackdown and making several NYC subway performers arrests by studying complaints from passengers. The study reportedly helped the force where to designate plainclothes officers to make the NYC subway performers arrests.
Chief Joseph Fox, head of the NYPD's Transit Bureau said, 'If the dancers make a mistake, someone could get hurt. The dancers themselves could get hurt.'
Though ordinary, some of the NYC subway performers arrests have reportedly turned nasty. According to the AP, one acrobat even spat on an officer and tried to bite another during the arrest.
NYC subway performers arrests may strictly be for safety and legal reasons, but some people are reportedly looking at another possible reason for the crackdown. According to at least one organization, the NYC subway performers arrests mainly target black and Hispanic men, who also happen to make up most of the street performers. Joo-Hyn Kang, spokesperson for the organization "Communities United for Police Reform" said, 'Arresting young people who dance on the train, who are often from working-class communities of color, needlessly criminalizes those engaged in positive activities and only exacerbates the severe inequalities within our city. It's a wasteful use of limited police resources that doesn't help address violence or real crimes, and does nothing to make us safer.'
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
