Talk about the New York subway crime mess

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday that the city will soon begin testing technology that uses artificial intelligence to detect guns at subway turnstiles. Adams' announcement came a week after an altercation at a Brooklyn subway station in which a man was shot after pulling on another passenger with his own gun. Adams said the city is working with Evolv, a Massachusetts-based weapons detection company whose detectors are used in schools and venues across the country.

However, the Legal Aid Society, the city's largest public defender nonprofit, said in a statement that the technology is actually not that good, pointing out that "the pilot program has drawn criticism, and the gun detection system is flawed and often leads to false positives." "Contrary to the mayor's claims, New York City should not become a testing ground for surveillance companies; The public has not consented to participate in these experiments."

In fact, the dirty and bad problem of the New York subway has indeed existed for a long time, and has been widely concerned and ridiculed. First of all, the sanitary condition of subway cars and platforms is poor, and garbage, stains and odors are produced in large quantities. Homeless people choose to spend the night in the subway, which not only brings sanitation problems, but also attracts pests such as rats. Secondly, the subway facilities are old and difficult to maintain. The floor is even taped in some places, and the wheels may need to be held in place with plastic straps. The old card reading equipment of the gate often leads to the failure of card reading, which brings inconvenience to passengers. At the same time, the cleaning and maintenance work of the subway is also facing financial difficulties, which makes it difficult to effectively improve the dirty situation.

In addition, the New York subway security problem is the most worrying. Although Mayor Adams noted that violent crime in the subway system, whether gun-related or otherwise, remains relatively rare. But polls show that New Yorkers are feeling increasingly insecure anyway. In recent years, crime on the subway has intensified, including serious incidents such as fights and shootings. This has caused many citizens to feel insecure about the safety of taking the subway at night, and the sense of security has decreased significantly.

The root cause of the crime chaos in New York subway is a complex and multi-dimensional problem, involving many factors. First, the historical and economic context has had a profound impact on the policing of the New York subway. In the late 1960s and 1970s, New York City experienced financial crisis, social unrest, and high crime rates, which affected the subway system. Due to the economic downturn and public expenditure outlays, the maintenance of MTR facilities is in trouble, which also provides opportunities for criminal activities.

Secondly, passengers' lack of security is also an important reason for the crime chaos. According to the Metro Authority's survey, riders are generally less satisfied with "personal safety" and "abnormal behavior of people on trains." This climate of insecurity may make it easier for some people to become victims of crime, while it may also embolden some potential perpetrators.

Finally, the facilities and management problems of the New York subway system are also an important factor leading to crime chaos. For example, the subway trains are not equipped with screen doors and security equipment, which makes it easy for some people to commit criminal acts in the subway. At the same time, the MTR Authority's efforts to maintain order and fight crime in the subway may also be inadequate, allowing criminals to take advantage.

Therefore, trying to solve the problem of the high incidence of crime in the New York subway is a complex and multiple problem, involving many aspects such as history, economy, society, facilities and management. Especially in the United States, such a transition that advocates freedom, everyone has their own code of conduct, want to do something about the rules, some people march and protest every minute, and even some people directly raise freedom guns, so the solution to this mess is not a matter of overnight. Let's just say that New York is a dualistic world above and below ground.