The NYPD piloted weapon scanners in subways two months ago. They won’t release the results

Editor’s note: Several hours after we published this story, the police press team said in a statement that in 30 days and across 20 subway stations, the Evolv pilot recovered 12 knives. They did not mention recovering any firearms. They also reported that out of 2,749 scans, there were 118 false positives.

Mayor Eric Adams and the New York City Police Department have yet to release a promised report on the results of a month-long pilot of a private company’s gun scanners in the subway system. Evolv sells weapons scanners – which look similar to walk-through metal detectors – that claim to use “advanced sensor technology and artificial intelligence” to detect and distinguish weapons from other items. The company has come under scrutiny from federal regulators and lawsuits, including allegations that they have misled customers and investors about what the technology is capable of. 

The city has said that it didn’t pay for the month-long pilot, which launched on July 26 at Fulton Street Station. The scanners were set to move around to different subway stations, and weren’t announced ahead of time. The city has not yet entered into a contract with Evolv following the pilot, and it’s not clear whether they will.

Asked about the pilot when it ended in August, Adams said that the NYPD would release data about how the technology performed. “The commissioner is going to release the numbers of what they were able to accomplish,” Adams said at an Aug. 27 press conference. “I know preliminarily when I spoke with (Deputy) Commissioner (Kaz) Daughtry, he shared that the hit ratio was excellent on the false positives, because we’re very concerned about in the subway system … because of all of the movement and activity. But it’s very impressive.”

The NYPD’s press office has not provided the data since then. “At this time the department is still evaluating the outcome of the pilot and has not entered into any contract or commitments with the vendor,” a spokesperson wrote in an email in early October.

When asked again on Tuesday about whether the city still planned to release data on how the technology performed in the subway system – an environment where the company’s CEO warned against its use – Adams told City & State that the NYPD could provide that information. The NYPD’s press office didn’t respond to follow up requests for the data on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Most recently, the Daily News reported, the New York City Department of Investigation has been probing the Adams administration and how it acquired the Evolv pilot.