Cops embrace innovation
First, the grappler, and now a fleet of drones ready to fight crime from the rooftops of Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police’s recent innovation drive continues after it unveiled blueprints for drone launchpads on city rooftops at a Wednesday press conference.
new eyes in the sky by the end of 2025
LVMPD Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said the launchpads are the latest phase of Metro’s drone program, and that the force plans on rolling out its new eyes in the sky by the end of 2025.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, drones have helped the LVMPD locate suspects on 169 occasions since October. These drones, however, are launched by officers from their vehicles. The new phase includes remote piloting, which spells a lot more trouble for Vegas lawbreakers.
Sci-fabulous Las Vegas
“We’re pushing the boundaries of innovation,” stated Koren at the drone launchpad conference. Koren said Las Vegas has made a name for itself as an innovative city and has “never been afraid to try something new and to show the world what’s possible.”
The LVMPD did just that earlier this month after it released footage of its new “pursuit intervention device,” dubbed the “grappler,” taking down a man accused of suspected murder.
Metro’s latest drone phase, however, seems assured to have a much bigger impact on fighting crime. Already, Koren said, drones have flown 1,100 missions that “aided in 386 arrests.” The LVMPD’s Unassisted Aircraft Systems Program Manager Steven Oscar stated during an October drone demo that deploying drones remotely represented a “paradigm shift in police work.”
Oscar said police can send a drone to a location to say “‘Hey, there’s nothing going on’ or ‘You need more assets’ before anybody even shows up.”
According to Sheriff Koren, there will be 13 different “skyports” on the rooftops of fire and police buildings across Vegas. Trained operators, including civilians, will remotely operate the drones, leaving the rooftops from a “centralized location.”
Big brother
While the drones look set to revolutionize the LVMPD’s first response operations, the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada has aired privacy concerns.
Koren addressed this concern, saying that the LVMPD will stick to certain “data retention rules,” such as ensuring cameras are pointed skyward while a drone is en route to its targeted destination.
According to the Review-Journal, ACLU Nevada attorney Jacob Valentine was unconvinced. “Essentially, it would be equivalent to an officer saying they don’t need a warrant to walk through your house, but I can walk through it and I’ll just forget about everything I see.”
