NEW YORK — A proposal to ban cameras in subways to prevent terrorism has been dropped by police and transit officials.

The move comes a year after city transit officials came up with the idea to forbid photography, videotaping and filming in subway stations.

The New York Daily News reported in yesterday's editions that police and transit officials said a ban was not needed to secure the nation's largest mass transit system.

"Our officers will continue to investigate and intercede if necessary, if the activity — photo-related or not — is suspicious," police spokesman Paul Browne told the newspaper.

The proposal by NYC Transit, a division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, had been criticized as too far-reaching by civil libertarians, photographers and some city officials.

The National Press Photographers Association, Radio-Television News Directors Association, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Society of Professional Journalists and New York Press Photographers Association had jointly filed comments with the MTA, claiming that the proposed ban would infringe on fundamental First Amendment freedoms.

“The proposed rule violates the First Amendment rights of photojournalists and other photographers,” the groups wrote. “Photojournalism is key to facilitating the press’s effective reporting of newsworthy events. … Simply put, pictures help all people better understand any subject in the public domain.”