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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline NOVEMBER 22, 2024 | The Indian Eye 21

NYC Mayor, Interim Police Commissioner

Donlon Announce ‘Drone as First Responder’

Program to Keep New Yorkers Safe

Department’s First 24/7 Formalized Drone Unit Will Immediately Deploy Aerial Autonomous

Vehicles to Incident Locations and Provide Critical Information to On-the-Ground Response Teams

OUR BUREAU

NEW YORK, NY
ew York City Mayor Eric Adams and New
York City Police Department (NYPD) In-
Nterim Commissioner Tom Donlon have an-
nounced the “Drone as First Responder” (DFR)
program, which leverages the latest in aerial auton-
omous vehicle technology to enhance the NYPD’s
emergency-response capabilities as the agency ful-
fills its mission to keep New Yorkers safe. The DFR
program is now operational in five commands in
three boroughs, marking a successful expansion of
the NYPD’s unmanned aircraft systems initiative.
Located at the 67th, 71st, and 75th police pre-
cincts in Brooklyn; the 48th Police Precinct in the
Bronx; and the Central Park Precinct in Manhattan,
the 10 newest drones — two per command — will
be deployed remotely and fly autonomously to the
exact longitude and latitude of select priority pub-
lic safety calls, including searches for missing peo-
ple, alerts from the ShotSpotter gunshot detection
system, incidents of robberies and grand larcenies,
and other crimes in progress as needed. The rapid Department’s First 24/7 Formalized Drone Unit Will Immediately Deploy Aerial Autonomous Vehicles to Incident Locations and
deployment of DFR drones based at station houses
supplements the NYPD’s in-person patrol response Provide Critical Information to On-the-Ground Response Teams (NYC.gov)
to 911 calls by supplying high-definition audio and
video that is accessible, in real time, on officers and the benefits of new and improving technology,” said oid overdose) — to bystanders at emergency scenes.
supervisors’ department-issued smartphones. NYPD Interim Commissioner Donlon. “Our DFR Every DFR flight is commanded and moni-
“New York City is flying into the future as program is part of this evolution. It enables our tored by an NYPD officer certified as a drone pi-
we keep New Yorkers safe,” said Mayor Adams. highly trained officers to be even more responsive lot by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
“While the ‘Drone as First Responder’ program to the people we serve, and to carry out the NYPD’s DFR pilots are situated at the Joint Operations
is what precision policing in the 21st century looks critical work in ways that are increasingly effective, Center at police headquarters in lower Manhattan
like, drone potential is really just taking off. We efficient, and safe for everyone.” or at one of the department’s off-site Technical As-
are leveraging the latest technology to enhance the The DFR initiative is one aspect of the NYPD’s sistance and Response Unit (TARU) stations. Pilots
NYPD’s emergency-response capabilities, remotely larger drone program that, since late-2018, has de- remotely control the drones on a computer screen
sending drones to the exact longitude and latitude ployed drones directly from the hands of on-site that displays a live feed, enabling them to make
of where an emergency call comes and sometimes operators to perform various tasks: recreating floor initial scene assessments and quickly broadcast
in as little as a minute. These drones will mean more plans with 360-degree views and searching collapsed over police radios detailed descriptions of suspects
efficient policing and will help increase the safety of structures, facilitating two-way communication with and other timely information considered valuable
our responding NYPD officers and New Yorkers.” barricaded individuals, tracking fleeing crime sus- to central dispatchers and arriving patrol officers.
“When New Yorkers need help, our first re- pects, documenting collision and crime scenes, con- Each DFR mission is additionally monitored in real
sponders are always there as quickly as possible to ducting evidence searches, assisting with warrant time by a member of the NYPD’s Legal Bureau.
ensure their safety,” said Deputy Mayor for Public executions, helping to effect rescues during storms, With the launch of the DFR program, the
Safety Chauncey Parker. “This program adds a pow- and monitoring shark activity off city beaches. NYPD now has 100 drones of various sizes and ca-
erful tool to our toolkit, enabling police to respond NYPD drones were also used to inspect the struc- pabilities, and more than 110 FAA-qualified drone
faster and with more accurate information. By using tural integrity of buildings and bridges following the operators. NYPD drones have been dispatched on
technology to improve efficiency and services, we’re region’s 4.8-magnitude earthquake earlier this year. more than 4,000 missions in the past year, including
helping those who protect us do their jobs better Additionally, the technology can potentially be used approximately 2,300 priority calls for service. Re-
when every second counts and we’re making our to drop flotation devices to swimmers in distress and corded footage is deleted after 30 days, unless it is
communities even more safe.” deliver vital first-aid equipment — such as automat- to be used to investigate a crime, captures an arrest,
“We are at the forefront of these exciting inno- ed external defibrillators, tourniquets, and naloxone or other evidence that must be preserved to assist in
vations today, and we must always keep seeking out (a nasal spray that can reverse the effects of an opi- a prosecution.

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