Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
More eyes in the sky: NYPD expanding use of 'drones as first-responders'
By
Charles Lane
Published Nov 13, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
By
Charles Lane
Published Nov 13, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The NYPD will begin using drones to find lost children, search for suspects, respond to other emergencies and patrol neighborhoods as part of an expanded program to use the flying remote controlled vehicles, Mayor Adams and police officials said Wednesday.
The program is an expansion of a pilot program police officials have described as “drones as first-responders,” which began by using the devices to respond to gunshots in five precincts. The program is led by NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry, who manages a growing deployment of drones to look for sharks and spot subway surfers.
The expansion now includes sending drones on all kinds of regular 911 calls.
“These drones are remotely controlled by trained NYPD personnel who see a live feed enabling them to make initial scene assessments,” Adams said Wednesday at a news conference announcing the expanded program.
The drones now launch from the rooftops of five precincts: the 67th, 71st, and 75th in Brooklyn, the 48th in the Bronx and the Central Park precinct. All the drones are controlled from a room at police headquarters in Lower Manhattan.
“I want the drone team to be on patrol like a regular police car that you see driving up and down,” Daughtry said. “I want them to do the same thing, looking for any type of anomalies, looking for any fights. Just I want them to be on patrol to add an extra layer of eyes up there.”
The program launched in late June and was unveiled when it expanded to the Central Park precinct, where police said crime had increased. On Wednesday, Daughtry credited bringing drones to Central Park for decreasing crime. He said the expanded program now includes a fleet of 109 drones flown by roughly 60 police officers certified to fly drones by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Daughtry and Adams recounted several anecdotal instances where drones were used to search for brush fires, to alert a family to a child in danger, and to search for an assault suspect who officials said fled before police cars arrived.
“The drones watched him take off his clothes and put them into his bag as he walked into the bodega,” Daughtry said. “When he walked back outside, he was met by uniformed police officers where he was placed under arrest.”
Interim Police Commissioner Tom Donlon said so far the drone program has responded to 2,300 calls for service.
Daughtry didn’t yet have data on whether the drones have reduced police response time, but said initial impressions suggest response times are slightly faster with drones.
“Yes, they are a little better,” he said.
Tagged
public safety
manhattan
bronx
brooklyn
Charles Lane
Charles is a Day-of reporter focused on breaking news and enterprise. He’s very friendly and can be reached at [email protected], or more securely on whatsapp/signal 631-295-6715
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .