UAS might eventually be used for surveillance in New York City, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly revealed last Thursday.
Kelly said the eyes in the sky — which have worried civil rights activists — could prove useful when sizing-up demonstrations, adding to an NYPD arsenal that already includes 3,000 cameras and high-powered anti-aircraft rifles that can shoot down planes.
“We’re looking into it,” Kelly told an audience during a rare public interview at the 92nd Street Y on last Thursday night. “Anything that helps us.”
Kelly noted that UAS are widely used in law enforcement, especially along the border.
But New York presents challenges.
“There’s a lot of air traffic,” he noted. As a result, “The only thing we would do is maybe use the cheap $250 ones to take a look and see the size of the demonstration or something along those lines.”
Kelly noted that a UAS programme is not being actively pursued at this time.
The potential use of UAS was one of several revelations during the far-ranging discussion led by Reuters News’ Editor-in-Chief Stephen Adler, during which Kelly detailed some of the new projects the nation’s largest police force has in the works, as well as recent controversies.
Photo: DNAinfo/Jill Colvin