Police will deploy drones to monitor parties during Labor Day weekend.
Surveillance Drones to Monitor Outdoor Parties in NYC This Weekend
Get ready for an unexpected guest at your outdoor party in New York City this weekend – a surveillance drone. City officials have recently announced their plan to utilize drones to monitor large gatherings and ensure public safety. While this move has sparked anger among privacy advocates, the NYPD believes it is a necessary step to maintain order.
“If a caller states there’s a large crowd, a large party in the backyard, we’re going to be utilizing our assets to go up, to go check on the party, to make sure if the call is founded or not,” Kaz Daughtry, assistant NYPD commissioner, said.
The New York Times reported that the police will determine the number of resources required based on the drone’s findings. This decision comes in light of the upcoming 56th annual West Indian American Day parade and J’Ouvert festival, where security is a top concern.
Ensuring Safety Amidst Previous Incidents
Last year, the festival-related gatherings in Brooklyn witnessed three shootings, prompting the NYPD to seize 27 guns. The Washington Post reported that the events attract around 2 million people, making it crucial to enhance security measures.
“Now for anyone who thinks they’re gonna come into this community this weekend with bad intentions, we all here stand together and we say not this weekend, nor any other weekends. Our police officers will be diligent, visible, and some won’t be visible,” said NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell.
While the NYPD believes that deploying surveillance drones will contribute to public safety, privacy advocates are outraged by this decision.
“This is really alarming. A plan to send drones into people’s backyards just for having a barbecue should have never gotten off the ground. This is incredibly invasive and downright creepy,” expressed Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project.
Daniel Schwarz of the New York Civil Liberties Union also criticized the move, stating, “Deploying surveillance drones over New Yorkers gathering with their friends and families to celebrate J’Ouvert is racialized discrimination, and it doesn’t make us safer.”
Despite the backlash, New York City Mayor Eric Adams supports the use of drones for monitoring purposes.
“We have to push back on the sci-fi aspects of drones. No one’s going to be monitoring what you’re talking about, your conversation,” Mayor Adams assured.
He further explained that the drones would be used to address noise complaints and disruptive behavior, allowing the police to respond more efficiently.
However, privacy advocates remain skeptical about the effectiveness and potential abuse of this technology.
“This is ripe for abuse. The mayor keeps doing this. Whenever there’s something that might generate a bad headline, he looks for some technological gimmick that can fix it,” expressed Albert Fox Cahn.
While the NYPD believes that drones can be deployed effectively and provide valuable insights, critics argue that long-term investments in public safety are more reliable.
“We continue to have police peddling the myth that their technology somehow will magically keep us safe, when in fact, it’s long-term structural investments in public safety that are proven to be effective,” Cahn stated.
Despite the ongoing debate, the NYPD remains confident in the potential of drones to enhance their operations.
“We can get the drones there quicker than a police car. They could spot out what the situation is from overhead and give us a heads-up of what we’re looking at,” explained NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell.
As the Labor Day weekend approaches, New Yorkers can expect to see surveillance drones hovering above their outdoor gatherings. While the intention is to ensure public safety, the use of this technology continues to raise concerns about privacy and discrimination.
Source: The Western Journal
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