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<\/a> <\/a> Listen Listening… \/ <\/p>\n The New York City Police Department this week unveiled a fleet of 14 drones it says will help with a variety of uses<\/a>, from hostage situations to search and rescue operations. But privacy advocates have concerns. <\/p>\n NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan<\/strong><\/a> says drones will allow police to do their job more effectively and that the technology will only be deployed in \u201cspecific instances,\u201d like the New Year\u2019s Eve celebration in Times Square. New York is the largest city in the U.S. so far to turn to drones for police use, but not the first. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely not going to be used for routine patrol. It\u2019s definitely not going to be used for traffic. It is never \u2014 and I say never, ever \u2014 going to be weaponized, so you\u2019re never going to hear of tear gas or anything else being on a drone. That is absolutely forbidden by our policy,\u201d Monahan tells Here & Now<\/em>\u2018s Jeremy Hobson. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to be used for surveillance on individuals. This is going to be used to specific police functions.\u201d <\/p>\n In a statement<\/a>, the New York Civil Liberties Union says the NYPD\u2019s policy leaves the door open to abuses of power:<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the NYPD provided us with an early look at a draft policy that would govern the Department\u2019s deployment of drones, the NYCLU expressed serious concerns. The NYPD did make some changes, but we continue to believe the NYPD\u2019s drone program poses a serious threat to New Yorkers\u2019 privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Drone video recordings will be stored for 30 days, Monahan (@NYPDChiefofDept<\/a>) says, unless they become necessary for court proceedings or if they\u2019re requested under the Freedom of Information Act. <\/p>\n \u201cIt really is something that is going to enhance how we develop cases,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n On the types of situations when drones will be used<\/strong> <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll be various things that we allow them to do and it\u2019s a strict policy that we have. We can use them on search and rescue, evidence search at large and inaccessible locations. We can use it at hazmat locations, traffic and pedestrian monitoring at large events, such as Times Square New Year\u2019s Eve, which actually will be the first time that we will be utilizing the drones at one of these events. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen we use it at Times Square at an event like that, it\u2019ll be on a tether, which is basically a cord that it\u2019s attached to and it\u2019ll be an area that\u2019s cleared out below the drone. So God forbid the drone falls, it falls into an area where there are no people, and we use that just to manage traffic and pedestrian flow within a large-scale incident. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is something that will help us do our job better. Obviously we\u2019ve been doing our job for years, but this just makes our job better and it allows us a new way, new technology, to increase the safety of the city. That\u2019s the ultimate goal \u2014 there\u2019s technology out there that just makes us do our job better. There are 900 agencies across the country right now that are using drones. We took our time and really studied the usage and how they could help us do our job better to protect this city. We took a lot of input in before we decided to use drones. As a matter of fact, we sat down with the NYCLU, just to get their input. Though [they\u2019re] not completely thrilled with everything in our policies, we did feel it was necessary to talk with them before we implemented.\u201d <\/p>\n On what this technology won\u2019t be used for<\/strong> <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely not going to be used for routine patrol. It\u2019s definitely not going to be used for traffic. It is never \u2014 and I say never, ever \u2014 going to be weaponized, so you\u2019re never going to hear of tear gas or anything else being on a drone. That is absolutely forbidden by our policy. It\u2019s not going to be used for surveillance on individuals. This is going to be used to specific police functions. <\/p>\n \u201d \u2026 We had a shooting incident in the Bronx which covered a very large area, and we wanted to make sure we document the crime scene as best as we can. So we put the drone up late at night, and we were able to take pictures all along the route that can be fused together and really give a good view to any prosecutor who\u2019s going to be used in that case.\u201d <\/p>\n On who will be responsible for operating the drones<\/strong> <\/p>\n \u201cIn the department, there are only 29 pilots. To actually operate a drone, you have to be licensed by the FAA. So you have to go through a pretty extensive course to learn to utilize it and be licensed properly. So there are only 29 people, they\u2019re assigned to one unit, it\u2019s our Technical Assistance Response Unit, and they\u2019re only going to come out with the drones when they\u2019re called to an incident. They\u2019re not out there on routine patrol \u2014 a drone will never be utilized for routine patrol. \u2026 It\u2019s strictly in our policy how and when we could use it, and there\u2019s always going to be a supervisor out on the scene. Every time that drone goes up in the air \u2026 we have to get clearance through the FAA that we\u2019re putting it up in the air, and we will record every single time that we utilize that drone.\u201d <\/p>\n On where drones fit in the proliferation of cameras in cities like New York<\/strong> <\/p>\n \u201cListen, if you walk around in New York City, you\u2019re basically on camera anywhere you go. These are private cameras that are out on the street, these are traffic cameras, these are our cameras. Every company has a camera. When we\u2019re on patrol, cops are turning on body cameras. So the idea of people being on camera, it\u2019s just a reality in society nowadays.\u201d<\/p>\n Chris Bentley<\/a> produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Jack Mitchell<\/a> adapted it for the web.<\/em><\/p>\n Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit https:\/\/www.npr.org.\n
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