Here's how many weapons the NYC subway scanner pilot program found
NEW YORK CITY - The results are in – and it's not looking good for the AI-powered weapons scanner rolled out over the summer in certain NYC subway stations.
The NYPD released data showing the pilot program did not find any riders with firearms, but the devices did come up with 118 false positives.
Back in July, NYC Mayor Eric Adams walked through a scanner to show off how the city would change the game and keep straphangers safe.
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First AI-powered weapons scanners appear in NYC subway
The first gun-detecting scanners have been installed in the New York City subway system at the Fulton center station in Lower Manhattan.
"Finally, to be able to detect if someone is carrying a gun and where that gun is located on that person's body," Adams said.
The evolved weapon scanners pilot program to detect weapons in at least 20 subway stations across the city finally came to an end, and critics are calling it a colossal failure.
"The system is on the verge of a collapse and technology of this magnitude can lift up and support the basis of public safety in the subway system," former NYPD Lt. Darrin Porcher. "Therefore, we need something that is consistently on point as it relates to the detection of firearms, and unfortunately, the technology has failed to hit the mark."
NYPD data on the pilot program
According to data from the NYPD, out of nearly 2,800 scans done during the pilot program:
- There were 118 false positives.
- 12 knives were recovered.
- The scanners did not detect any guns.
The NYPD released data showing the pilot program did not find any riders with firearms, but the devices did come up with 118 false positives.
The Legal Aid Society was against the scanners from the start because of privacy concerns. It also called the program a failure, saying in part, "not only did the Evolv scanners detect zero firearms, but they triggered 118 false alarms, compromising the safety of subway riders. This is objectively a failure, no matter how hard City Hall tries to spin this data."
A City Hall spokesperson tells FOX 5 NY that the NYPD is still evaluating the results of the pilot program and has not entered into any contract or commitments with that company.
Evolv still, though, believes the program did its job, serving as a deterrent to criminals.