Gun Scanners to Monitor Weapons in City’s Subway System?

By Thalif Deen Reprint | | Print |

A briefing at the New York Police Department (NYPD)

NEW YORK, May 25 2022 (IPS) - The shootings in the New York subway system have prompted a call for gun scanners to monitor weapons in the city’s transit system.

The high-tech idea was floated by Mayor Eric Adams even though implementing the proposed rule in the sprawling subway system may be a logistical nightmare.

Currently, gun scanning is done at airports, sports stadium and theme parks. The rise in crime in the city’s transit system will also be an impediment to thousands of workers who plan to return to their offices after several months of working from home.

The latest shooting took place six weeks after another gunman opened fire in a crowded rush hour subway car in Brooklyn, shooting 10 people and injuring at least 13 more. By contrast, the assailant in the most recent shooti8ng fired a single shot, striking Daniel Enriquez, 48, who was on his way to brunch in Manhattan.

At a news conference, Adams told reporters: “The call is to come back to work, and the subway system being safe is a major driver to doing that. When you have an incident like this, it sends a chilling impact. There’s no getting around that.”

Meanwhile, the New York Police Department (NYPD) has long gone high tech in monitoring and detecting crime in the City. Described as “the most technologically advanced police department in the nation,” it utilizes cutting-edge technology and equipment to ensure the safety of both its officers and the communities they’re sworn to protect.

According to NYPD, all Police Officers, Detectives, Sergeants and Lieutenants regularly assigned to perform patrol duties throughout the city are equipped with body-worn cameras.

The NYPD body-worn camera program is the largest in the United States with over 24,000 members of the Department equipped with body-worn cameras. The rollout of these cameras was conducted in three phases.

The NYPD says some of the department’s technological advancements and equipment upgrades include:

• Smartphones for all police officers
• Tablets for patrol vehicles
• Ballistic door protection for hundreds of patrol vehicles
• More Tasers in patrol commands
• Stronger pepper spray in better canisters
• Upgraded escape hoods
• Heavy vests and Kevlar helmets
• Belt-worn trauma kits
• Military-grade flashlights
• The Domain Awareness System, which pools existing live streams of data from multiple sources
• CompStat 2.0, which provides officers in the field with access to updated and interactive, real-time crime pattern analysis and mapping software
• Body camera technology that records enforcement encounters
• ShotSpotter technology that identifies, records, locates, and reports gunshots