Some straphangers could pass through weapons detectors on their travels as soon as Friday.

Many commuters said Wednesday the detectors are a good idea, although crime within the subway system has dropped when compared with the same time period last year. Earlier this month, the NYPD reported a 14-year low, when not accounting for the pandemic era, in month-to-month subway crime reduction.

The detectors are calibrated to detect guns, but could be modified to spot other weapons. As of July 17, 38 guns have been confiscated, according to NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper. That’s 19 more than last year.

“Everyone thinks that the sales pitch is great. It’s the reality that is going to infuriate New Yorkers,” Albert Fox Cahn, founder and executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, said.

Cahn called the detectors nothing but a high-tech gimmick.

“Independent studies show Evolv can’t tell the hinge in a laptop and a tube in an umbrella from the barrel of a firearm,” Cahn said.

Evolv is the company that makes the scanners. They’re being sued by shareholders who say the company exaggerated the extent the devices can detect weapons.

The lawsuit alleges there’s also increased risk of undetected weapons entering locations such as schools.

A lawsuit from a student in Utica, New York alleges the detector failed to spot a hunting-style knife, resulting in him being stabbed by another student.

“We shouldn’t be keeping these companies afloat, and we shouldn’t be putting these technologies in the subway,” Cahn said.

Mayor Eric Adams said they’ve done thousands of tests to gauge the detectors’ success and is impressed with the outcome.