‘Kind of scary:’ Not all subway riders on board with NYC’s robot patrol
The New York Police Department is doing a two-month trial period with the K5 security robot patrolling a Times Square subway station at night, but not all subway riders feel safer.
A New York police robot given high expectations to curb crime was decommissioned after a trial program.
The New York City Police Department leased Knightscope’s "fully autonomous" K5 Security Robot to patrol the Times Square Subway Station as part of a four-month pilot program analyzing the technology's effectiveness in crime fighting. New York City Mayor Eric Adams praised the device during a September news conference, saying it would eventually become "part of the fabric of our subway," but the NYPD retired the robot in January, law enforcement officials told the New York Post last week.
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"The Knightscope K5 has completed its pilot deployment in the NYC subway system," an NYPD spokesperson told Fox News in a statement Tuesday.
Police officers accompanied the 420-pound device, which was leased for $9 an hour, during the trial run, according to the NYPD. The department spent $12,250 on a seven-month contract for the robot — three months preparing it and four months deployed, The New York Times reported.
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Some subway riders said they liked the idea of having more surveillance in the subway and that the presence of the K5 security robot made them feel safer, but others preferred human officers. (Fox News/Teny Sahakian/Megan Myers )
"This is below minimum wage," Adams said in September. "No bathroom breaks. No meal breaks. This is a good investment."
During a Jan. 3 public safety address, Adams touted crime reductions, including a 12% drop in homicides in 2023 and said "New Yorkers are breathing easier" because of his administration's efforts to deter. But not all New Yorkers have been on board with Adams' emphasis on technology to curb crime.
"Technology can always malfunction," Muna, a New Yorker who felt safer with human officers, told Fox News in November. Mitch similarly said, "more human beings for now would be better."
New York City Mayor Eric Adams praised the introduction of Knightscope's K5 Security Robot to patrol Times Square subway station in a pilot program to analyze the device's effectiveness at deterring crime. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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Others were more welcoming.
"I think it’s OK — whatever they can do to make us safer," Onassis previously told Fox News. "I mean look at the robot. It’s like something from ‘Doctor Who.’ I think it's cute."
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