NYPD Plans Drone Deployment for Surveillance During Labor Day Parties

It appears that the NYPD has taken the initiative to grant itself the authority to conduct citywide surveillance using drones. This proactive approach is aimed at maintaining order and safety during festivities.

As the Labor Day, J'Ouvert, and West Indian Day Parade weekend approaches in New York City, Washington Post reported that possibility arises that drones patrolling overhead might not just be recreational ones, but could belong to the police force.

Assistant Commissioner Kaz Daughtry shared during a recent live press conference that if a caller reports a significant crowd or a large backyard party, they are prepared to deploy resources, including drones, to investigate the situation. This proactive approach is aimed at maintaining order and safety during festivities.

Daughtry revealed further details, stating that for the upcoming J'ouvert weekend, the NYPD is introducing a technological approach by integrating drones into their operations. These drones will be assigned to both non-priority and priority calls, allowing them to respond effectively to various situations.

In cases where reports are received via the 311 non-emergency line about sizeable gatherings or large backyard parties, the NYPD intends to deploy their resources, including the drones, to investigate the reported incidents.

The primary goal is to verify the accuracy of the information and determine the appropriate level of response required. The drone team is scheduled to be on duty from the start of the weekend until Monday morning, ensuring continuous surveillance and support.

Raising Concerns

While this approach might seem somewhat reasonable under those circumstances, as reported by the Associated Press, it raises notable concerns related to privacy and the potential violation of legality.

The situation becomes particularly significant considering New York City's adherence to the POST Act, which mandates that the NYPD must disclose any novel employment of surveillance technology at least 90 days prior to implementation, allowing the public an opportunity to provide input.

Moreover, the NYPD did release a document detailing drone usage in 2021. However, the document back then outlined limited purposes for drone deployment, including tasks like search and rescue operations, documenting crime scenes and collisions, and others.

However, nosy neighbors that annoyed by backyard parties is not on the list. Back in 2021, law enforcement authorities made a commitment that drones wouldn't be deployed in locations where individuals possess a reasonable expectation of privacy, unless the NYPD personnel secure a search warrant explicitly permitting such use.

Exploiting a Loophole

The Verge reported that there's a chance that the NYPD is leveraging a potential gap in the POST Act, utilizing a provision that allows them to categorize a novel tool as an enhancement to an existing technological policy.

This is reminiscent of our prior discussion on the NYPD's stretching of drone regulations, such as when they introduced "remote-piloted public messaging capabilities." However, according to the guidelines, any such additions should be documented accordingly.