If you thought the future of policing would look like something out of a sci-fi thriller, congratulations—you’ve been paying attention. The New York Police Department’s (NYPD) drone program, hailed as the next frontier in public safety, is under scrutiny for operating less like a transparent guardian of public trust and more like an aerial enigma. A new report from the New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) shines a spotlight on the program’s murky operational policies, revealing a smorgasbord of advanced capabilities and risks the department would apparently prefer not to discuss.
The NYPD has been deploying drones since 2018, pitching them as versatile tools for everything from search-and-rescue missions to traffic accident documentation. Last year alone, these buzzing beacons of modern policing were launched over 4,000 times. But as their flight paths expand, so do the questions—and the answers aren’t exactly forthcoming.
