New York City will roll out a pilot program for new gun detectors in the city’s subways in an effort to improve safety in the subway transit system, Mayor Eric Adams announced Thursday.
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) will begin piloting new technology at some subway stations in late June to curb shootings and violence on the city’s subway system, Adams and NYPD Commissioner Edward – Presented by Mr. A. Cuban. Press conference Thursday.
The weapon detection technology is expected to be implemented in late June after a 90-day waiting period during which police will identify the companies operating the technology and evaluate the technology’s effectiveness. Adams did not say which subway stations would be selected for the program.
At a news conference Thursday at the Fulton Street subway station, Adams unveiled a scanner from Evolve, a Massachusetts-based security technology company that has faced allegations of falsifying test results. Associated Press reported.
“Keeping New Yorkers safe on our subways and maintaining trust in our systems is key to ensuring New York remains the safest metropolis in America,” Adams said Thursday. “Today’s announcement is the next step in our continued efforts to remove dangerous weapons from our transportation systems and provide enhanced mental health services to New Yorkers in crisis.”
The announcement comes in the wake of multiple shootings in the Big Apple’s subways earlier this month, including a man who was seriously injured after being shot with his own gun during an altercation on the subway. Police say a man entered a Brooklyn subway station armed with a knife and a gun. CBS New York reported.
The Associated Press added that a shooting occurred last month on the subway during rush hour when a fight broke out between two groups, leaving one person dead and several others injured.
As of Sunday, New York City police have seized a total of 450 weapons on New York City transit this year, including 19 illegal guns, according to the mayor’s office. This is an increase from the 261 weapons seized during the same period last year, including nine guns.
The mayor’s office said police seized 1,515 weapons in the subway last year, including 1,470 cutting instruments and 45 illegal firearms, a “significant increase compared to the previous year, when 947 weapons were recovered.” “This is a significant increase,” he said.
Adams also announced plans for the city to place more outreach workers in subway stations to help direct people with mental health issues and living within the subway to treatment and care.
Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Ann Williams Isom said, “People living with serious, untreated mental illness who are sheltering in the metro deserve safety, stability and community.” “It takes time to get to this destination, but the first step is often the most difficult: providing patients with medical care they don’t realize they need.”
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