NYPD Announces Plans To Start Using Drones

The use of robots in law enforcement is pretty well-documented, where such robots are used to help diffuse bombs and to scout ahead in dangerous situations. Now it seems that the NYPD will be adding drones to their arsenal in which the drones will be used in a variety of situations, ranging from hostage situations to hazardous material incidents.

According to Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill, “As the largest municipal police department in the United States, the NYPD must always be willing to leverage the benefits of new and always-improving technology. Our new UAS program is part of this evolution – it enables our highly-trained cops to be even more responsive to the people we serve, and to carry out the NYPD’s critical work in ways that are more effective, efficient, and safe for everyone.”

Now there might be some who are concerned that these drones could be used for surveillance purposes, but according to a tweet by the official NYPD News account, they have stated that these drones will not be used in routine patrol, traffic enforcement, immobilizing vehicles or suspects, warrantless surveillance, or used as a weapon (or equipped with a weapon).

So far the NYPD will have 14 drones at their disposal, with the DJI Mavic Pro quadcopter making up the majority and will be used for tactical operations. There is also the DJI M210 RTK quadcopter that will be used for search and rescue operations, and the DJI Inspire 1 quadcopter that will be used for training and testing.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Robots
Tags: Drones, Legal