NYPD Expands its Use of Drones

C.G. Hoffman

The NYPD has recently dramatically increased its use of drones for surveillance purposes, deploying them more than 13 times over the last month to monitor large scale protests. Drone footage from pro-Palestinian protests in Times Square and Bay Ridge led to criminal charges against 158 people participating in the protests, when some of the protesters were arrested for violence and vandalism.

The NYPD sees drone usage as another tool to enable it to reach more New Yorkers who need help, as well as being an asset in fighting crime. Drones have already been used for various purposes, such as to measure crowd size at parades and festivals. It has even been used to help rescue a trapped driver from his car during flooding, as the footage was streamed to police headquarters and officers were able to guide the driver in how to exit safely.

Mayor Eric Adams has been enthusiastic about drone use from early in his tenure, saying that they save the city a great deal of money. While it costs the city $2,200 per flight to fly an NYPD helicopter, launching a drone costs only 17 cents per flight. During a recent visit to Israel, the mayor has reviewed new drone technology used by Israeli law enforcement. The city has often trained together with Israeli police, who were early adopters of drones as first responders.

Some civil liberties activists have slammed the city’s use of drones, citing that they were violations of privacy. Police representatives disagree, and say they are just another tool to keep New Yorkers safe in a city that already has hundreds of cameras installed throughout the five boroughs.