NYC Mayor Eric Adams announced back in March a pilot program that would bring AI firearm-detecting metal detectors to NYC subway stations, and New Yorkers will begin seeing them over the next few days.
On Wednesday, July 17th, Mayor Adams stated during a news conference that the metal detectors will appear “in a few locations” within “the next few days.” He didn’t specify where exactly the detectors would be rolled out, though back in March he did mention Fulton Street station.
Adams and NYPD officials have been mentioning the possibility of unveiling metal detectors in NYC’s subway system over the last two years as a way to combat subway crime–the technology is already used at The Met, Lincoln Center, and CitiField.
Earlier this year the NYPD tested detectors from company Evolv, whose freestanding scanners can catch straphangers carrying metal objects that resemble firearms. Adams stated they did “thousands of tests, thousands, to gauge the success of it” and they’re “extremely impressed with the outcome.”
According to Gothamist, Legal Aid attorney Diane Akerman criticized the announcement, stating:
New Yorkers want a safe subway system that works. These scanners will create significant inconvenience, adding congestion and delays to an already overburdened system. Even worse, they are an unjustified invasion of privacy, and put people’s lives — particularly those of our clients, the majority of whom are people of color — at risk from the panic that an inevitable false alarm would induce.
MTA Chair Janno Lieber, however, views the detectors as progress being made to combat subway crime. Data from the NYPD shows that subway crime has fallen below pre-pandemic levels.
Moreover, back in March Adams stated that facial recognition would not be a part of the AI firearm-detecting metal detectors.
Other safety measures that have recently been brought to the NYC subway system or are on their way include subway platform doors, mandatory bag checks performed by National Guard members, and bright LED lights, among others.