The NYPD is using drones 3 times more than it did last year
NYPD’s rapidly expanding use of drones — often Chinese-made DJI models and soon U.S.-built systems — is raising questions about effectiveness, cost, and civil liberties. Commenters weigh potential benefits such as faster responses to gunfire, safer pursuit of suspects, and reduced reliance on noisy helicopters against the risks of 24/7 aerial surveillance, weak oversight, and mission creep, especially when paired with controversial tools like ShotSpotter. Broader concerns include unequal access to airspace between police and civilians, the erosion of privacy through persistent monitoring, and whether such technology meaningfully reduces crime or mainly expands police power.
Drone hardware and quality
- Commenters note NYPD is visibly using DJI drones, despite DOJ labelling DJI a national security risk.
- Some US-made “approved” drones are described as unreliable and inferior (slow boot, poor stability, clunky controls).
- One anecdote describes a low‑quality US Kickstarter drone that later pivoted to government contracts, seen as an example of “grift” and lower domestic quality versus DJI.
ShotSpotter, drones, and technical debate
- Several propose linking gunshot detection (ShotSpotter) with rapid drone dispatch to capture evidence or pursue suspects.
- Critics say ShotSpotter has high false positive rates, poor localization, and limited real-world utility; studies and oversight reports are cited.
- Others argue the acoustic triangulation physics are sound, and adding video from drones could disambiguate fireworks vs gunfire and improve usefulness.
- Debate continues over whether the bottleneck is data quality or police capacity to respond.
Surveillance, privacy, and legality
- Many see drone expansion as deepening a “24/7 surveillance dystopia,” comparable to helicopters, fixed cameras, ALPRs, planes, and wide-area imaging.
- The Baltimore aerial surveillance program is cited as unconstitutional; Radiolab and ACLU coverage are referenced.
- NYPD has an FAA waiver to fly over people, at night, and above 400 ft—permissions not available to civilians.
- Some suggest future privacy protections must come from strong laws or even constitutional amendments, but express pessimism about rollback risk.
Effectiveness, crime, and public safety
- Some NYC residents welcome drones, citing perceived unrest and violent incidents; others counter with NYPD statistics showing recent declines in shootings and homicides.
- Advocates envision “drone first responders” that quickly establish line of sight, reduce dangerous car chases, and collect objective video evidence.
- Skeptics doubt cost-effectiveness versus dense fixed camera networks and worry tech will be used more for generalized surveillance than serious crime.
Power asymmetry and “right to drone”
- Several highlight that police can surveil protests and public spaces from the air while civilians face shrinking legal airspace and lack equivalent tools to monitor police.
- Broader concerns arise about police having extensive special powers (qualified immunity, exceptions to gun and traffic laws, ability to lie in interrogations), with drones seen as another amplifier of this imbalance.