NEW YORK (PIX11) — New York City will officially launch a pilot program to test gun detection scanners on its subway system, Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday.
The mayor said the gun-detection technology will be rolled out in select subway stations within the next month as part of a 30-day pilot program testing the technology as an added safety measure to prevent shootings on the subway system.
“New Yorkers will be familiar with this type of technology; it’s not new,” Adams said. “Currently, the Met, One Vanderbilt, Citi Field and 10 other major league baseball parks across the country use similar technology.”
Gun detectors will be installed before passengers enter the subway through the turnstiles.
“Just like with bag screening, we won’t announce in advance where or when this will happen,” Adams said. “It could be every five people, it could be every 10 people, it could be every 20 people. It depends on the day.”
Those selected for testing can refuse to go through the weapons scanner, but if they do, they will not be allowed through the turnstiles onto the subway, said NYPD Transportation Chief Michael Kemper.
Weapon scanners have faced backlash from the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Legal Aid Society, which argue that the devices violate New Yorkers’ Fourth Amendment rights.
“With this misguided, dangerous and invasive technology now in place, we are preparing lawsuits to protect the constitutional rights of all New Yorkers,” the groups said in a joint statement. “New Yorkers have not given up their rights or agreed to become the NYPD’s guinea pigs for over-hyped and error-prone surveillance technology. We stand ready to defend the right of all subway riders to be free from NYPD intrusion and harassment.”
Michael Gerber, New York City’s deputy law commissioner and general counsel for the NYPD, believes weapons-detection technology is legal.
“We believe this is completely legal and consistent with case law. There is a special needs doctrine in the Fourth Amendment that speaks to exactly this type of scenario. What we’re doing is being done to keep people safe, particularly to prevent shootings on the subway,” Garber said.
Finn Hogensen is a digital journalist with over five years of experience covering local news. He has been with PIX11 News since 2022. Read more about his work here.
