OAN’s Abril Elfi
12:25 PM – Friday, September 1, 2023
New York City police will be using drones to monitor big outdoor gatherings over Labor Day weekend.
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Assistant New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Kaz Daughtry spoke at a press conference on Thursday regarding the rules they would imply over the holiday weekend.
“If a caller states there’s a large crowd, a large party in a backyard, we’re going to be utilizing our assets to go up and go check on the party,” he said.
The drones will be able to alert officials of noise complaints and other non-emergency or 311 calls before officers arrive.
“We will be able to determine how many resources we need to send to that location,” Daughtry continued. “And we will be able to determine how many resources we need to send to that location.”
According to the agency, the drones will assist thousands of police stationed across the city from Friday until Monday in determining which complaints need further investigation and which must be prioritized.
The decision was made at a security briefing focusing on J’ouvert, an annual Caribbean festival commemorating the abolition of slavery.
New York is increasingly beginning to rely more on drones for policing. According to reports, the police department used drones for public safety or emergency purposes 124 times this year so far, up from the only four times that they were used in 2022.
Mayor Eric Adams (D-N.Y.) expressed interest in using drone technology in the city’s policing during a visit to Israel last week and announced new rules for drone usage in the city last month.
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