New York City to trial AI gun scanners in subway

Mayor Eric Adams revealed a pilot program aimed at deterring violence, which includes plans to assess scanners at select stations

On Thursday, New York City officials unveiled a pilot program to implement portable gun scanners in the subway system. This initiative aims to deter violence and enhance the sense of safety underground. Mayor Eric Adams stated that the scanners would be introduced at specific stations following a legally mandated 90-day waiting period.

Adams emphasized the importance of subway safety and public trust in ensuring that New York remains the safest major city in America. He also announced a plan to increase outreach efforts in subway stations to assist individuals with mental health issues who are residing in the system to access treatment.

Adams stated that officials would seek out companies specializing in weapons-detection technology. Following the waiting period, the scanners would be implemented in selected subway stations for the NYPD to assess their effectiveness.

During Thursday’s news conference at a lower Manhattan station, Adams and police officials introduced a scanner from Evolv, a publicly traded company facing allegations of manipulating software testing results to inflate the effectiveness of its scanners. The company is currently under investigation by both the US trade regulator and its chief financial regulator.

Evolv describes its AI-enabled scanners as utilizing “safe, ultra-low frequency, electromagnetic fields and advanced sensors to detect concealed weapons.”

Evolv CEO Peter George has previously stated, “We’ve written the signatures for all the threats that are out there: all the guns that exist, all the bombs, all the large tactical knives.”

Jerome Greco, supervising attorney of the digital forensics unit at the Legal Aid Society, expressed concerns about gun-detection systems potentially triggering false alarms and causing panic.

In a news release, Greco stated, “This Administration’s steadfast reliance on technology as a cure-all for enhancing public safety is misguided, costly, and results in significant invasions of privacy.”

Adams indicated that the city would conduct its own assessment of the scanners’ accuracy. “People may have had negative experiences with this technology,” said Adams, a former transit police officer. “From what we observed, it’s meeting our expectations. We will conduct an analysis to determine if it meets our expectations.”

City officials did not specify the exact locations for the scanner installations. During the demonstration at the Fulton Street station, the device beeped with a brief delay when a police officer with a holstered gun passed through, but remained silent when officers carrying cellphones and other electronic devices went through.

Violent crime is uncommon in the city’s subway system, which accommodates approximately 3 million riders daily. However, there have been two recent notable shooting incidents. In early March, a man was critically wounded after being shot with his own gun during a confrontation with another passenger. The previous month, one person was killed and several others were injured when shots were fired during a fight between two groups on a rush-hour subway car.

According to police, there were five homicides in the subway system last year, a decrease from the 10 reported the previous year. In the first two months of 2024, there were three homicides.

The announcement of the scanners followed a fatal push at an East Harlem subway station on Monday, once again highlighting concerns about subway safety.

On Monday, New York City officials unveiled a strategy to deploy an additional 800 police officers to combat fare evasion in the subway system.

Prior to this recent increase, Metropolitan Transportation Authority chair and CEO Janno Lieber stated at a board meeting on Wednesday that the NYPD had confiscated 17 guns from individuals stopped in the system this year.