Very soon several subway stations around the Big Apple will begin to have scanners that will help the police detect passengers with firearms and sharps, in order to prevent them from entering the transportation system, where several have been recorded in recent months. violent events.
This was revealed this Thursday Mayor Eric Adamswho in his desire to implement new strategies that improve the security of New Yorkers, presented at the Fulton subway station in Manhattan, the plan of technological tools that will be tested after 90 days to publicly present data on its impact.
“public safety “It is real security and it is also how people feel,” said the president, who insisted that the transit system is mostly very safe, despite recent violent events such as the attack on a subway driver and four dead people. However, he acknowledged that It is necessary that users have the perception of security.
“We know that we have more than 4 million passengers per day and a reliable system. We know that approximately six serious crimes are committed per day between those 4 million passengers. But if they don’t feel safe, then we are not fulfilling our task. Statistics don’t matter if people don’t believe they are in a safe environment,” Adams said.
The burgomasterwho presented one of the machines that will be used in the stations, which he said will be mobile and will not perform facial recognition or collect biometric data, explained that by law, The City has to publish information about the new technology it will use and then test it.
“This is our Sputnik moment. Like when (President) Kennedy said that we were going to put a man on the Moon… Let’s put the scanners into operation,” the president mentioned.
Adams also announced that to address all fronts that are affecting safety in the subway, The City will invest more resources in hiring more doctors to help identify those suffering from serious mental illnesses within the transportation system, to offer them treatment and prevent them from being a danger to themselves and other passengers. Through the expansion of Metro Co-Response Outreach Teams, a pilot initiative known as SCOUT, that has already helped 90 psychiatric patients not treated with mental health treatment and care, the goal is to avoid safety incidents.
“Keeping New Yorkers safe on the subway and maintaining trust in the system is key to ensuring New York remains the safest big city in America“said Mayor Adams. “This announcement is the next step in our ongoing efforts to keep dangerous weapons out of our transit system and provide increased mental health services to New Yorkers in crisis…we are showing our administration’s dedication to keeping all New Yorkers safe.” .
Mayor Adams presented a plan for weapons detectors in subway stations. Photo Edwin Martinez
NYPD Traffic Chief Michael Kemper He assured that the police are fully committed to guaranteeing the safety of those who take the subway, which is why he highlighted that recent initiatives such as the increase in the presence of 1,000 uniformed and undercover agents in stationslike the announced scanner plan, will help continue to reduce criminal acts, which in the last month dropped 15% more.
“People should be safe and feel safe. “Illegal weapons have no place in the subway,” commented the officer, who revealed that the work of the NYPD in the transportation system has led to the arrest of 21 passengers with firearms and 440 with other types of weapons, which have been confiscated. Arrests for weapons in the transit system have increased by 71%.
Regarding the stations in which the weapons detection equipment will begin to be installed, the authorities assured that it will depend on the analysis they do on those stops that present higher crime rates or where more weapons have been confiscated. An official from the Legal Affairs Department of the Adams Administration explained that the equipment is large, like those used in stadiums, so that they do not create traffic jams and clarified that if a person refuses to enter through the detector, they will be free. If you don’t, you won’t be able to enter that subway station.
NYPD Commissioner Edward Cabanhighlighted that police efforts are “averaging more than 4,500 weapons arrests per year,” since 2022, and have managed to remove more than 15,000 illegal firearms from the streets.
“At the same time, overall crime on our transportation system continues to trend downward as our officers actively engage lawbreakers day and night. However, for these achievements to be meaningful for all New Yorkers, we must make safety a reality in every community we serve, on every train line we protect,” Cabán said.. “We are doing this by staying focused on the relatively small number of people who commit violent crimes, by deploying our resources effectively, by maximizing the utility of new technology, and by constantly evaluating our performance in a relentless effort to do even better.” .
Janno Lieber, president of the MTAwas optimistic about the use of new technological equipment in subway stations to combat crime and the plan to increase medical equipment to identify seriously mentally ill people, but called on county prosecutors to help curb the presence of repeat offenders.
“The justice system must ensure that they will not reoffend again. and that is why we want that when a decision is made about bail or sentences, the entire history of what people have done is taken into account,” said the MTA official.
Two years ago, after the shooting that occurred on an N train as it moved through Brooklyn, Mayor Adams tested Evolv scanners and weapons detection technology from two other companies, the same ones that are currently in places like Citi Field. However, they assured that they will be analyzing companies that offer the best options.
The scanners will detect weapons intended to be brought into the subway. Photo Edwin Martínez
Metro users like Yokasta Salcedo, who entered the Fulton station after the mayor’s announcement, expressed her support for the measures contemplated to improve safety in the subway and confessed to feeling unsafe every time she travels on the train.
“I really like what the Mayor is doing to stop insecurity, because in just a couple of days here we had four deaths, crazy people shooting people and last month gang members shooting on the subway in the Bronx. That has to stop and the best way is with more police to scare them away and with things like weapon detectors,” said the Dominican mother.
New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman He criticized the announcement of the use of weapons detection technology and recalled that “it has a history of offering flawed and unusable results.” One such case was when a robot was used in Times Square last year, which ultimately offered no real benefits and was lifted.
“The Mayor compared today’s subway scanner announcement to the moon landing, but more accurately he is jumping the shark,” Lieberman said. “We should be wary of any flashy new technology that overpromises while raising novel privacy concerns.”
Data
- 90 days after the data on the impact of the plan is publicly presented, the scanners will begin to be used at stations
- 4 million passengers use the subway daily
- 6 serious crimes per day are reported in the transportation system in NYC
- 90 serious psychiatric patients identified in the metro have been helped with the SCOUT program
- 1,000 more uniformed personnel have been deployed in the subway
- Crime in the subway decreased by 15% in the last month
- 21 passengers with firearms have been arrested this year on the subway
- 440 have been arrested with other types of weapons
- Arrests for weapons in the subway have increased by 71%
2024-03-28 22:15:20
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