You Could Count The Number On Your Fingers And Toes . . . But Someone Might Report You For Suspicious Behavior

The the past two years, 16 million eyes got together and busted 18 perps, making the MTA’s “See Something, Say Something” campaign a resounding success:

After 9/11, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority coined the slogan, “If you see something, say something,” and put it on posters encouraging subway and bus riders to call a police counterterrorism hot line if they encountered anything suspicious. Then, last July, the authority trumpeted results on new posters and in television ads: “Last year, 1,944 New Yorkers saw something and said something.”

But the new posters, also placed in the commuter railroad trains, left out two things: What, exactly, did those 1,944 New Yorkers see, and what did they say? Presumably, no active terror plots were interrupted, or that would have been announced by the authorities.

Now, an overview of police data relating to calls to the hot line over the past two years reveals the answer and provides a unique snapshot of post-9/11 New York, part paranoia and part well-founded caution. Indeed, no terrorists were arrested, but a wide spectrum of other activity was reported.

The vast majority of calls had nothing to do with the transit system.

Some callers tried to turn the authority’s slogan on its head. These people saw nothing but said something anyway — calling in phony bomb threats or terror tips. At least five people were arrested in the past two years and charged with making false reports.

Eleven calls were about people seen counting in the subway, which was interpreted as ominous by some.

One thing the overview did not clear up: just where did the number 1,944 come from? Police and transit officials could not say exactly.

All together, calls to the hot line, 1-888-NYC-SAFE, have resulted in 18 arrests by the New York police over the past two years; none have revealed a direct connection to terrorism.