ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is aiming to broaden the state's involuntary commitment laws, enabling hospitals to require more mentally ill individuals to undergo treatment. This initiative comes in response to a series of violent incidents within the New York City subway system.

In a statement on Friday, Hochul, a Democrat, announced her intention to propose changes to mental health care legislation in the upcoming session, in a bid to tackle what she described as a rise in subway-related crimes.

“A significant number of these tragic events have involved individuals with severe untreated mental illnesses, stemming from a lack of access to treatment for those living on the streets and disconnected from our mental health care system,” she stated.

“We are obligated to shield the public from random violent acts, and the only just and humane approach is to provide our fellow New Yorkers with the necessary assistance.”

Mental health specialists assert that most people with mental illnesses are not violent and are more likely to be victims rather than perpetrators of violent crimes.

The governor did not specify the exact changes her legislation would entail or provide additional details about her plan. She did, however, mention that “currently, hospitals can commit individuals whose mental illnesses pose a risk of serious harm to themselves or others, and this legislation will broaden that definition to ensure more individuals receive the care they require.”

Hochul also mentioned she would propose another measure to refine the court-ordered process for assisted outpatient treatments for mental illness and to make it easier for individuals to voluntarily enroll in these services.

Current state law permits police to mandate that individuals be taken to hospitals for evaluation if they appear mentally ill and their behavior threatens physical harm to themselves or others. Psychiatrists must then assess if such patients need involuntary hospitalization through a nuanced and multifaceted process.

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, argued that increasing involuntary commitments “doesn’t enhance safety, diverts attention from addressing fundamental issues, and endangers New Yorkers’ rights and freedoms.”

The future of the governor’s plan in the state Legislature, which is under Democratic control and convenes its annual session later this month, remains uncertain.

Carl Heastie, the Democratic speaker of the state Assembly, expressed that there is a “universal recognition that more needs to be done regarding mental health,” but he would need to review the governor’s specific proposals. A spokesperson for Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the Democratic majority leader, noted, “public safety is undoubtedly a primary concern for the majority. We want all New Yorkers to feel secure. We await the details of the governor’s plan for further discussion.”

Hochul’s statement followed a series of violent events in New York City’s subways, many garnering national attention and raising concerns about the safety of the nation’s busiest subway system.

Recently, incidents included a man being pushed onto subway tracks before an approaching train on New Year’s Eve, a sleeping woman being set on fire, and a man attacking two people with a knife at Manhattan’s Grand Central subway station on Christmas Eve.

The mental health backgrounds of suspects in these cases are not immediately known, though New York City Mayor Eric Adams noted that the suspect in the Grand Central attack had a history of mental illness, and the father of the suspect in the shoving incident expressed concerns about his son’s mental health in the weeks leading up to the event.

Violent crime is infrequent on the subway, which transported over 1 billion passengers in 2024. Nonetheless, random assaults and shoving incidents, among other occurrences, have unsettled passengers and received significant online attention.

Major crimes on the subways decreased through November compared to the same period the previous year, although homicides increased from five to nine, as per police reports. However, some have noted a rise in assaults since before the pandemic — there were 326 recorded through November in 2019, compared to 521 in the same timeframe in 2024.

Adams, a Democrat, has long advocated for the state Legislature to broaden mental health care laws and has previously supported a policy allowing hospitals to involuntarily commit individuals unable to fulfill their basic needs for food, clothing, shelter, or medical care.

“Refusing a person essential psychiatric care because their mental illness prevents them from recognizing their urgent need is an unacceptable neglect of our moral duty,” the mayor stated following Hochul’s announcement.