NYC pilots weapons scanners at subway stations

July 28 (UPI) -- The New York Police Department is piloting new weapons scanners that have been installed at subway stations in the city for the first time in its history.

"The NYPD will be rolling out a weapons-detecting scanner to select subway stations over the next month. Riders identified, chosen at random, can either go through the scanner or do a bag check. If they refuse both, they must leave the subway," Mayor Eric Adams said on X .

"The goal of these scanners is to help us continue our success of keeping riders safe. This is technology that is being used in other big cities and venues across the nation and will help provide a new level of security to our subway safety efforts."

Speaking on the local radio show "Jonesy in the Morning," the mayor heralded the new devices as "not just a metal detector" because it can show authorities where a weapon is concealed on a person's body.

"Someone will always be there watching the screen as a person walks through," Adams said. "You don't have to stop and pause. When you do those metal detectors in the airport, you have to stop and empty your pockets. Now you just keep walking."

The devices are made by the Massachusetts-based Evolv Technology, which uses a combination of traditional metal-detecting technology with camera arrays augmented by artificial intelligence, as reported by the New York Daily News .

Not every commuter will be subject to screening. Police will only search certain people with backpacks. Critics include the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Legal Aid Society, which are preparing legal actions claiming it infringes on the rights of commuters.

"New Yorkers did not consent to give up their rights or be NYPD guinea pigs for over-hyped and error-prone surveillance tech," the groups said in a joint statement. "We are prepared to protect the right of all subway riders to be free from NYPD intrusion and harassment."

Evolv Technology is currently subject to a probe about its marketing practices and an investigation that was described as a confidential "non-public, fact-finding inquiry" by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission .

And in May, investors filed a class action lawsuit i n May alleging that the company misled them about the ability of its detectors to find knives and guns.

"Stopping a gun from coming on the subway system using an easy pathway to do so is just amazing when you think about it. You've got to see this technology, sister," Adams said. "It points to where the gun is located on a person's body."