AI-powered weapon scanners fail pilot program in New York City subways
According to officials, nearly 2,800 total scans took place, with 118 false alarms.
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Legal advocates are calling the city’s 30-day pilot program to scan for guns in the subway system a failure, after AI-powered scanners failed to detect any guns across 20 stations.
In a statement, the New York Police Department said that out of 2,749 scans there were 118 false positives over the month-long test, and 12 knives were covered. The scanners are from security company Evolv Technology.
The Legal Aid Society, who initially criticized the plan when it was announced in July, said these detectors are “security theater” and don’t make the subway system any safer.
“Instead it just creates these interactions between the NYPD and civilians that undermines the kind of trust we're trying to develop.” said Diane Akerman, a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society’s Digital Forensics Unit. “We're talking about 2,749 people who were stopped and then another 118 folks who were pulled aside and subjected to additional scrutiny. So, if you imagine that you start using that across the entire subway system, I mean, that is thousands and thousands of people.”
Other police data from CompStat 2.0 shows that transit crime is down citywide in 2024 compared to this same time last year.
City Hall tells News 12 that the NYPD is “still evaluating the results of the pilot and has not entered into any contract or commitments with the vendor.”
