Kelly: NYPD working to develop gun sensors

The NYPD is teaming up with the Pentagon to develop a device that can spot guns and suicide bomber vests under clothes, police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Tuesday.

"The development is moving forward, and we hope to utilize the sensor as soon as it meets our requirements," Kelly said.

The new scanners pick up the body's natural radiation and then spot what is blocking it, Kelly said.

In contrast, airport scanners now send out X-rays to see what a person is wearing or what is in their bags.

"Police officers don't have X-ray vision," said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne. "It [the device] has the potential of giving them that for guns and suicide vests."

The detectors are being developed in conjunction with a Department of Defense technical support office that combats terrorism. Similar detectors are now used at airports and security checkpoints in Indonesia, Italy, the United Kingdom and other countries.

If deployed in the city, the new technology could have an impact on the police department's controversial stop and frisk program on the streets by allowing police officers to use sensors to target their gun stops.

Legal experts say the detectors are likely to lead to legal challenges in criminal cases, where arguments could be made that using the detectors amounts to illegal searches.

Chris Dunn, an attorney for the New York Civil Liberties Union, said technology allowing police "to see in your pockets as you walk down the street is deeply troubling."

"Given the enormous privacy implications of this technology, the NYPD must demonstrate that the technology is accurate and reliable and will not lead to invasive and unjustified police stops," Dunn said.

The gun-detector technology was tested in June at the department's firing range in the Bronx. It was found to be effective at picking up a gun from 15 feet, said an NYPD official. To boost the capability to 25 feet and beyond requires a larger unit.

Kelly's mention of the gun- and bomb-detector project came in a wide-ranging "state of the NYPD" address he made Tuesday to the nonprofit Police Foundation. He also announced that new facial-recognition technology has led to arrests.

Kelly told the foundation that the scholarship drive for the four daughters of slain NYPD Det. Peter J. Figoski of West Babylon holds more than $2 million.