NYPD planned launch of weapons detectors in MTA subways violates privacy laws, advocates say

The NYPD is forging ahead with activating gun detection scanners in the city subway system this week even though the department hasn’t outlined a formal policy for the new technology — an omission civil rights advocates say puts the rollout on legally shaky ground.

According to Mayor Adams, the scanners, developed by Evolv Technology, will be installed at a handful of turnstiles at undisclosed subway stations on Thursday or Friday as part of a pilot program that’s supposed to run for a month.

However, disclosure requirements mandated by the so-called POST Act have not been met, according to the Legal Aid Society. The POST Act , enacted in 2020 to increase transparency around the NYPD’s use of surveillance technology, requires the department to publicly release an “impact and use policy” for any new surveillance device it intends to use within 45 days of the close of a public comment period on such a gadget.

The public comment period on the Evolv scanners expired May 13, meaning the NYPD had until June 28 to release a finalized policy for their usage.

But as of Wednesday, the NYPD’s POST Act database didn’t list any final policy for the Evolv devices.

“City Hall continues to violate the POST Act by denying New Yorkers the right to review the final policy before this administration unilaterally moves ahead with unleashing a novel surveillance technology on the public,” said Diane Akerman, a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society’s Digital Forensics Unit. “It is a continuing affront to New Yorkers that the mayor refuses to provide transparency and oversight to his constituents, the very people who will be subject to the use of this invasive technology.”

Adams’ office declined to say Tuesday which stations will see the scanners installed this week, citing safety concerns. But an NYPD source told the Daily News that Times Square and other major transit hubs are going to get them, and that activation is likely Friday.

Legal Aid declined to say whether it plans to take court action over the POST Act matter.

Spokespeople for the NYPD and the mayor didn’t return requests for comment on the privacy issues.

The mayor and NYPD officials have argued the scanners will help officers find and arrest people who enter the subways carrying illegal guns, knives or other weapons.

“It’s just not a metal detector, there’s a screen and if a person is carrying a firearm and they walk past the detector, it lights up and shows you where the gun is on that person,” Adams said in a Wednesday morning appearance on 94.7 The Block radio .

“You don’t have to stop and pause. You know when you do those metal detectors in the airport, you have to stop and empty your pockets — no. You just keep walking and as soon as you walk through, if you’re carrying a firearm, it would highlight exactly where that firearm is on your body, and a police officer is going to be at the location.”

This week’s planned Evolv unveiling comes as police data shows major crimes in the subway system remain down as compared to the same period last year. Murders are up, though, year over year, with six so far in 2024, up from five in the same period last year.

Legal Aid and other civil rights advocates say the Evolv technology, used widely at large scale public events, is unlikely to help crack down on guns in the subways. They argue anyone carrying a firearm could just avoid walking through the scanners, which are large and must be manned by at least one officer. Advocates have also pointed to Evolv’s CEO saying in a conference call earlier this year that subways are not a “good use-case” for his company’s scanners due to the electromagnetic difficulties that come with such an environment.

Advocates’ main concern, though, is that the machines could pose an invasion of privacy for New Yorkers who use the subways to commute.

“The fact that these technologies are ineffective and frequently trigger false alarms … should serve as enough reason for Mayor Adams to scrap this misguided plan,” Akerman said.

Adams’ office declined to say Tuesday which stations will see the scanners installed this week, citing safety concerns.

But a high-ranking NYPD source told the Daily News that Times Square and other major transit hubs are going to get them, and that activation’s likely Friday. In another sign that deployment is imminent, an Evolv scanner was seen being staged outside NYPD’s downtown Manhattan headquarters Wednesday afternoon.

According to a transit source familiar with the matter, the Adams administration has conducted 22,000 test scans at 30 stations in the past eight weeks in anticipation of the start of the pilot. The tests have not involved passengers, according to the source.

With Thomas Tracy and Evan Simko-Bednarski