With drones utilized more and more on government branches like fire and police departments, it is only natural for concerns to arise. While the drone revolution field-testing usually started on smaller towns to check for any bugs or problems, the main goal is still to integrate them in the bigger cities.
For police and fire departments, a drone at their disposal can provide great help in field operations. Drones can help scan areas for potential missing persons or escaping criminals. Fire departments can use drones to check higher floors and hard-to-reach areas for trapped civilians in burning buildings. These drone experiments have started seeing use in smaller, rural areas with less population to test it out. The results came back positive, with drones increasing efficiency and speed in these departments significantly.
The next step would be to integrate these flying machines into bigger populated areas, with the hopes of having the same effect. The idea of an unmanned flying camera can be a great advantage, especially those wanting a bird’s eye view of the situation.
New York Drone Concerns
New York is one of (if not the) world’s most famous cities. It also has a large population and a bustling society, compacted living quarters, and many tourists roaming around. This December, the New York Police Department (NYPD) has stated their interest in having a drone fleet to patrol the streets. This of course created buzz – both in a positive and a negative light.
The positive is that drones can go on routes and schedules without requiring the manpower used beforehand. The negative is, like with most camera drones, the effects on people’s privacy. Having a flying drone equipped with a camera can be alarming to those who pass it, giving them a record of their activity at that given time.
The NYPD have stressed that they will start integrating the drones slowly into the population. And then checking the results to see if there are any improvements to the old method. Of course, with change often comes resistance from those used to the old ways. Being a busy city, it can be difficult to patrol all areas at the same time, so a drone fleet managing security may be the solution. However, will the Big Brother concerns turn out to be true?
