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4/1/2024
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York Police Department last week announced plans to begin a pilot program using new technology designed to detect weapons carried by riders on the city's subway system.
The NYPD has instituted a mandatory 90-day waiting period before the new technology can be tested and used in New York City, according to a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) press release.
During the waiting period, the NYPD will identify companies with proven expertise in weapons detection technology. Afterward, the pilot will be instituted in some subway stations where the NYPD will be able to further evaluate the equipment's effectiveness.
"Keeping New Yorkers safe on the subway and maintaining confidence in the system is key to ensuring that New York remains the safest big city in America," said Adams said.
Meanwhile, MTA officials said the agency is investing in more clinicians to help those suffering from severe mental illness and participating in efforts to pilot a new technology designed to detect firearms in the transit system.
The MTA will begin hiring clinicians to support the expansion of the Subway Co-Response Outreach Teams (SCOUT), a pilot program launched in partnership with the state last year to connect people in subways with untreated severe mental illness to mental health care.
The city's and MTA's actions are designed to address a recent increase in subway crime.