New York Post

AI could help cops nab subway pistol-packers

- Tina Moore

Cameras outfitted with artificial intelligen­ce could alert authoritie­s when a gun is pulled on the city’s subways — and the NYPD is eyeing the technology, officials said.

NYPD Assistant Commission­er Kaz Daughtry told NY1 the tech might be one way to stop weapons in the wake of the shooting on an A train in Brooklyn last week.

“I’m looking at technology where we can use our current cameras in the actual subway system and integrate that with technology where we can detect weapons,” he said.

When asked by The Post about the AI cameras technology, the NYPD said it “continues to look into what technology is available. The NYPD does not currently have a timeline.”

Gun-detection AI seeks to send an alert to authoritie­s “before that first shot is fired,” said Sam Alaimo, one of the co-founders of ZeroEyes, a company that runs the software in public places across the country.

ZeroEyes, located in the Philadelph­ia area, trains an algorithm to spot firearms once they are drawn. It can’t see them stuffed in bags or tucked in waistbands.

The software is meshed with existing digital cameras at schools, government agencies, transit systems and other entities. Company analysts monitor blank screens that only go live once guns are detected, company officials said.

If the analyst believes the item is a weapon, they alert authoritie­s directly.

“From the moment that gun is seen in front of a security camera within about three to five seconds, the end user . . . will get that alert,” Alaimo said.

They will also get “a picture of the shooter, the exact location of the shooter and the exact time the shooter was there.”

One high-ranking police source said he believes criminals will find a way to foil it.

“Once the informatio­n is dispersed . . . you can rest assured that criminals will find a way around it,” the source said.

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