Lots of blame for shocking stabbings at Great Kills station (opinion)

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STATEN ISLAND, NY It can’t happen here.

That’s what Staten Islanders like to say when they talk about crime in New York.

Of course, we like to think things are bad in Manhattan and the other boroughs. But Staten Island is much safer.

And Staten Island is much safer.

But that doesn’t mean they weren’t in danger at all.

If you need convincing, just watch the video posted on SILive.com which shows a 51-year-old man being violently stabbed during an altercation with a group of teenagers at Great Kills train station.

Staten Islanders know that there are certain parts of the borough where crime is more prevalent, especially on the North Shore. That’s not a good thing, and you wonder what it will take after all these years to make these neighborhoods safer. But it’s a sad fact of life.

And I know that the South Shore is not perfect. There’s crime there too, including in Great Kills.

The Advance in 2017 detailed a number of drug dealing and robbery incidents involving Great Kills station and surrounding areas. Staten Island Railway passengers told the newspaper of mad drug activity open along the tracks.

Still, this week’s stabbing video is shocking to behold.

The attack occurs in broad daylight as people get off the train. The schoolchildren are visible in the video. The alleged perpetrators are a 13-year-old girl and two 14-year-old boys.

The victim and another person were apparently involved in some sort of argument on board the train.

We don’t know what the argument was about, but how many times have we seen arguments in malls, fast food joints, parking lots, and on public transportation turn violent? Too many times.

The stabbing follows a violent assault that took place on a Staten Island bus earlier this month.

We have real problems if people don’t feel safe on public transport.

And, yes, we have the stabbing Great Kills on video. Because everything is captured on video these days. Which, according to some people, only fuels these kinds of incidents.

But let’s not be so quick to blame TikTok for that.

When I was a child in the 1970s, any violent incident involving young bullies was blamed on violence in movies and on television. In the 1990s, violent video games were blamed. Now we blame social media.

Or we blame bail reform and raise age laws, like Staten Island Republican lawmakers did.

Who knows?

But you can’t argue that the criminal justice reforms enacted by New York lawmakers in recent years make it more likely than not that whoever stabbed won’t see the inside of a jail cell for very long. , if at all. They could take the train back at any time. Chances are we’ll never know their names or what they look like.

What kind of message does this send?

Too often, criminals simply don’t fear being held accountable for their actions. The suspects are quickly returned to the streets without bail. Criminal records are sealed. Mugshots are no longer published by the media.

Quality of life offenses are no longer prosecuted as before.

Meanwhile, the cops have been demonized and the police force starved of funding. People don’t want cops in public schools.

Is it any wonder that crime is on the rise in New York?

We shouldn’t lock up all the criminals and throw away the key. But there must be real consequences for violent crimes.

Otherwise, none of us are safe.

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