The city plans to test weapons detectors in the subway system as part of a pilot program aimed at improving transit safety, Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday.

The NYPD is in the process of identifying companies it can work with to deploy moveable weapons detection technology at some subway stations, Adams said at a news conference.

The department will roll the technology out at “a few” stations in 90 days, the mayor said. The city’s Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology, or POST, Act requires the NYPD to disclose details about any surveillance tools it plans to use at least 90 days beforehand.

“I’m proud to announce that we are taking the next step forward in our ongoing efforts to make our subways even safer, and ensuring New Yorkers feel even safer in the transit system,” Adams said.

The city will also start hiring more clinicians to join a Subway Co-Response Outreach Teams, or SCOUT, pilot program launched in the fall that connects people in the transit system experiencing severe mental health issues with treatment and care, the mayor said.

Adams’ announcement comes on the heels of the NYPD deploying hundreds more officers into the subway system to combat fare evasion, which it has linked to crime in transit.

It also follows a series of a violent crimes carried out in the system in recent weeks, including a fatal subway shove in East Harlem and a shooting on a subway train in Brooklyn.

The NYPD began deploying more police officers into the system in February after seeing a spike in transit crime in January.

Earlier this month, meanwhile, Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered the National Guard and New York State Police into the system to assist the NYPD with bag checks.

In a press release, Adams said NYPD officers had seized 450 weapons, including 19 illegal guns, in the subway system between Jan. 1 and March 24 of this year, up from 261 weapons, including nine guns, during the same period last year.

Asked which stations would see weapons detectors when the pilot program begins, Adams said factors including nearby gun arrests and shootings would play into the decision.

“The beauty of this is that they’re mobile. They don’t have to be fixed,” he said. “So we can find out if there’s an incident where we’re seeing a spike in shootings in a particular neighborhood, we can deploy there, do these spot checks in those areas.”

His announcement, however, drew criticism from the Legal Aid Society. In a statement, Jerome Greco, supervising attorney of the group’s digital forensics unit, said weapons detection systems “are flawed and frequently trigger false alarms, which induces panic and creates situations that could result in the loss of life.”

“This administration’s headstrong reliance on technology as a panacea to further public safety is misguided, costly, and creates significant invasions of privacy,” Greco said. “During this interim period, we urge all New Yorkers to voice their concerns with the city over these dystopian technologies.”

Addressing the issue of privacy Monday, Adams said the detectors would not employ facial recognition or biometric technology.

“We understand New Yorkers value their privacy. And we understand that we must be transparent on how this technology is used, and we’re going to do that, but the goal is to keep New York City safe,” he said.

“Now, would I prefer us not having to walk through this to come in our system? You’re darn right I do. But we have to live life the way it is, and work to make it what it ought to be,” he added. “And right now we have a small number of bad people that are doing bad things to good people.”