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Echoes of the Brooklyn shooting: weapons detectors will be installed in the New York subway

'20.04.2022'

Nadezhda Verbitskaya

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After Shootings in the Sunset Park subway Mayor Eric Adams floated the idea of ​​adding "something like metal detectors" at station entrances to prevent guns from hitting trains. The comment prompted an immediate backlash as some questioned the wisdom of installing metal detectors at every turnstile in the city's 472 stations. Gothamist

Any New Yorker who has traveled by plane knows that standard metal detectors are slow. Nobody wants to put their phone in a small trash can when they're in a hurry to get to work. A spokesman for the mayor later clarified that Adams was not referring to airport-style detectors because "he knows it's impractical."

On April 18, at his first press conference after a period of lockdown due to COVID-19, Adams confirmed that metal detectors would be installed underground. He also said that he is currently evaluating three potential types of machines.

"New Yorkers will feel safe knowing that while they're swiping their cards around the turnstile, we're doing some checking to make sure people aren't carrying guns," the mayor explained. We are considering three options for such a device, but have not settled on any of them yet. As soon as we decide, we will make an additional announcement.”

Adams would like to install a new type of scanners in the subway. City Hall confirmed that one of the detectors in question was made by Evolv Technology, a security company based in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Like other metal detectors, Evolv uses 50 magnetic sensors to detect when a person is carrying metal. But these sensors are associated with machine learning algorithms, a type of artificial intelligence. So the company can not only detect a metal object, but also determine its density or shape, such as the barrel of a gun.

Evolv representatives say their main goal is to prevent the threat of mass casualties in crowded places by detecting weapons such as pistols, large knives and bombs.

“We signed all the guns,” said Evolv CEO Peter George. “The magic is in being able to tell a phone from a firearm.”

On the subject: Pupils in New York carry weapons to schools: guards seized three pistols in a day

When the scanner is running, the system takes a picture of the person. And above the place where there may be a suspicious object, a red three-dimensional field appears. The image allows the nearest guard to distinguish a person from the crowd. This automated setting provides a higher volume of movement. The company says its base model, the Evolv Express, can screen about 3600 people per hour. Which is 10 times faster than traditional metal detectors.

The company's devices have tested 11 million New Yorkers since they arrived in the city three years ago. This is a significant indicator given that the pandemic has driven public gatherings to a standstill. They are located in houses of worship, museums, performing arts and popular New York City tourist spots, he said.

Evolve scanners are already in use by Lincoln Center, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History and MoMA, according to company documents. The mayor's office said Citi Field also relies on the technology, although a New York Mets spokesman referred all questions about it back to the mayor's office.

“Of course, any technology that can be used in the metro will be cleared with the Governor's Office and the MTA before it is ever used and will need to complement the existing technology already in place in our metros,” said Fabien Levy, a spokesman for mayor.

But New York's transportation system is not a museum. When the 36th Street station shooting occurred, the subway was carrying 3 million passengers, a large volume that is half of what it was before the pandemic.

Privacy and security advocates are concerned that introducing this type of mass surveillance technology to the subway could inadvertently mop up unarmed people.

“He also touts the combination of this object technology with video surveillance and video analytics, including facial recognition, which is also notorious for errors, especially when it comes to blacks and people of color,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

No technology is perfect

Given that Evolv uses machine learning algorithms, the system is designed to get smarter over time. The company recommends that their systems be maintained by security guards so that true threats can be checked.

In the case of the New York subway system, this means that the police would have to be at every turnstile in the five boroughs. Checking 3600 people an hour, single Evolv detectors can potentially handle foot traffic passing through the subway system. The city's busiest station, Times Square, currently receives about 74 visitors a day, or an average of 000 travelers every hour. (In some periods, such as rush hour, there are obviously many more people.)

The placement of the detectors is another important factor. Earlier this year, a man stabbed several employees at the MoMA front desk even though Evolv detectors were on hand. This is because the scanners are not installed directly behind doorways, but several yards (meters) away from them. George assured that the company is working on a version of the device that could be built into doorways and internal traffic jams.

Lieberman wondered if mass surveillance could really eliminate the roots of crime.

“The COVID pandemic has exposed many gaping holes in our social safety net,” she said. “They include a lack of affordable housing across the board, a lack of housing for people in distress and suffering from mental illness.”

“If technology exists that can make everyone feel safe, make it even more desirable to participate in what is our birthright as New Yorkers (subways and public transit), I am all for it,” he said. — I just don't know enough about how they will work in the subway. That is, I support every idea that is being explored that might work.”

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