In an unprecedented anti-terrorism initiative aimed at keeping straphangers safe, cops armed with submachine guns and bomb-sniffing dogs will conduct daily patrols of the subway system starting this month, officials said yesterday.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said a boost in federal funding made the extra protection possible.
“Whether conventional crime or a terrorist threat, we will not let our guard down,” said Kelly.
The patrols – called “Operation Torch” – will begin in three weeks and involve teams made up of a sergeant, five officers and a bomb-sniffing dog, Kelly said.
The new security measure is one use to come from the $151.2 million in aid from the Department of Homeland Security to transit systems in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The NYPD did not specify how much of the new grant money would go to funding the subway patrols.