Although New York City has always been a beautiful place to visit and live in; at times it isn’t always the safest. This is especially true when it comes to its public transportation, which is why New York City Mayor Eric Adams is taking action. NYC subways have a history of being dangerous; drug addicts, homeless people, people with weapons, and at times criminals just casually stroll in. Eric Adams has announced that he will be placing weapon detection equipment into the NYC subway system to help combat some of these issues.
“There’s no place for guns and weapons on our transit systems,” Adams stated.
According to Fox News, Admas stated that the weapon detection program will roll out in late June. Adams also stated that officials will work with companies that specialize in weapon detection technology and gear. After the 90-day waiting period, the detectors will be placed in some subway stations so that NYPD can further investigate the apparatus’ reliability, as per AP News.
“Keeping New Yorkers safe on the subway and maintaining confidence in the system is key to ensuring that New York remains the safest big city in America,” Adams stated.
The exact name or brand of sensors has not yet been announced, but the city has been considering the EVOLV sensors, as stated by NBC News NY. NYC subway crimes have surprisingly and thankfully been low with major crimes falling to three percent from 2022 to 2023 and homicides dropping from ten to five percent. However, the crime rate in the subways has unfortunately hit a spike in January.
“There are approximately six felonies each day in the city’s subway system, which averages four million daily riders,” Adams stated.
Adams made the announcement days after a man was shoved onto the train tracks in East Harlem and killed. Crimes have also been up to four percent this year, according to The New York Times. Crime has indeed been on the rise in the subway systems as felony assaults have jumped to fifty-three percent including 570 attacks in 2023 as opposed to 373 in 2019. According to the New York Post, in this year alone, cops have taken hold of 450 weapons not to mention the 19 illegal firearms found and included.
