Data released by the City for the second quarter of 2019 shows that officers are still disproportionately targeting low-income New Yorkers for fare evasion, according to a report in AM New York. The data revealed that white offenders only counted for 76 of the 682 fare evasion arrests citywide – only 11 percent – between March 1 and June 30 of this year.

“The NYPD, as it does with so many offenses, continues to disproportionately target communities of color for what is basically a crime of poverty. A fare evasion arrest carries with it collateral consequences that can affect employment, deny access to critical public benefits, and for immigrant New Yorkers, result in detention and possibly deportation,” said Anthony Posada, Supervising Attorney with The Legal Aid Society’s Community Justice Unit.

Learn more about the work of The Legal Aid Society’s Community Justice Unit.