Drones will soon be joining the ranks of the Suffolk County Police Department.
Police announced they're launching the "Drones As First Responders" program. For the initiative, five human-operated drones have joined law enforcement officers to assist in dangerous situations such as assessing scenes, recording license plates to avoid police chases, tracking down unreachable or injured officers and better understand the scenes of fires, among others.
The drones are yet to see action in the field, but test flights are currently being held in the county’s second precinct. The first and third precincts will also begin testing in the next six weeks. The technology is expected to be used at every precinct in the department by 2026.
According to Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina, they will also be used to locate missing persons.
“God forbid we have somebody with Alzheimer's disease wandering off or a small child lost in the woods,” he said at a news conference announcing the launch Thursday. “This technology allows us to get there very quickly.”
All the drones are currently operated out of the Suffolk Crime Analysis Center in Yapank. Each is equipped with cameras to feed live video to the center, which will then allow operators to relay information about situations to officers.
Currently, the program includes five FAA-licensed drone operators, but that number is expected to grow as the initiative develops.
According to officials, the five drones cost a total of $600,000 and were purchased through a law enforcement technology grant awarded to the department by New York state. This year, $127 million has been allocated to police departments across the state to enhance their technological capabilities in the field, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office.
The model purchased by the county can fly at 45 miles per hour and can zoom in 128 times farther than a standard lens. The FAA has permitted the department to operate the drones even when they are no longer visible to the naked eye.
“We are going to continue to invest in technology to make this police department the most effective police department, to ensure that Suffolk County remains safe for all of its residents,” said County Executive Ed Romaine. “And [to give] our police department the tools, whatever they may be, including drones … to do a whole host of things that will make a huge difference in protecting the public.”
With the Drones As First Responders program, Suffolk County is joining over 260 similar programs nationwide.
