New York City began increasing its police patrols on its subway overnight in an effort to combat crime on the transit system.

Spikes in crime on the subway have put the system in the national spotlight as offenses ranging from petty theft to stabbings and murders have been publicized in the past year. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) pushed for the New York City Police Department to patrol every train during overnight hours as part of her plan to address crime on the subway during her State of the State address earlier this month.

“I want to see uniformed police on the platforms, but more importantly, we will put an officer on every single train, overnight, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., over the next six months, and the state will support these efforts financially,” Hochul said.

The overnight patrols began Monday, with NYPD Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta saying the two-officer-per-train initiative was being phased in, beginning with the A, G, J, and F trains.

“Last night, we started our rollout of a police officer on every train on the overnights. It was very successful. We were able to get them out onto those trains as we go forward, it’s going to be a phased role, like the mayor said, and we plan to have a police officer in every train shortly on the overnights,” Gulotta said at a press conference Tuesday.

Gulotta said the goal is that the NYPD will be present on each train during the overnight hours and that the conductor will announce this. He also noted that police step on and off the train at each platform, saying the officers will be “highly visible.”

“I think this is going to be a very effective way for us to move forward with this,” Gulotta said.

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The initiative was one of the several proposals Hochul unveiled at her address, including installing more barriers and better lighting at stations to curb fare evaders.

“This will not only make the subway less chaotic, it will help strengthen the financial footing of the MTA,” Hochul said.