Law NYPD to use drones to monitor backyard parties , barbecues etc..this weekend

[kflo]

outdoor parties are illegal in new york city? wtf?

how does that even work? i didn't figure they even have backyards. don't they all live in apartments and high-rises?

New York City includes all 5 boroughs.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

Hmmm... it would be horrible if another cheap hobby drone collided with and caused the expensive police drones to crash.

- It's paid by american citizens taxes.
Pretty sure that they're even superfaturated!

 

[nhbbear]

If your grill is too hot or you’re using a wood brick pizza oven, you will get cited.

Do I like the use of drones for issues like this? Not particularly, but it violates no laws or warrant requirements. It’s going to piss people off, because let’s face it, the parties they monitor are going to be minority parties that have in the past, gotten a little shooty. Hopefully, the nypd uses discretion in deploying the drones, but I doubt it.

 

[MicroBrew]

All calls are for a possible violation. The point is they stated they will not be patrolling and "snooping on countless parties" as you claimed, but using them to confirm the presence of "large groups" after an official complaint has been lodged, and a request for police dispatch has been made. Nothing that a helicopter or officer on foot would not be able to ascertain.

What I "claimed" was what the news said, which is based on what the commisioner said. The commissioner said if someone calls in that there is a large party, they will send a drone out there. There was no mention from the commissioner that they would send only if the person calling was reporting a complaint.

“If a caller states there’s a large crowd, a large party in a backyard, we’re going to be utilizing our assets to go up and go check on the party,” Kaz Daughtry, the assistant NYPD Commissioner, said at a press conference.

 

[SmilinDesperado]

It is not patrolling looking for crimes though, the article states they will be using them to respond to calls of reported large gatherings. Instead of sending an officer to every complaint like this you send a drone first to see if it is even worth the time. That is more effective resource management and it makes the police more efficient. It is not about arresting people or stopping crime.

This is just too loose of a standard and too open for abuse. What counts as a "large gathering"? What if it was just 3 drunk guys that were loud? It may be more effective to send a drone, but it's a terrible precedent to set considering it would be allowing the police to go on your property and basically look into your house because someone made a phone call.

In general, I would like for the police to use these kinds of technology more because it's safer for both parties, but they shouldn't be able to just stick a camera in front of your back porch or window because someone heard some noise.

 

[TUFNewb]

This is just too loose of a standard and too open for abuse. What counts as a "large gathering"? What if it was just 3 drunk guys that were loud? It may be more effective to send a drone, but it's a terrible precedent to set considering it would be allowing the police to go on your property and basically look into your house because someone made a phone call.

In general, I would like for the police to use these kinds of technology more because it's safer for both parties, but they shouldn't be able to just stick a camera in front of your back porch or window because someone heard some noise.

Large gatherings are 3 people? I don't think they could even confirm if 3 drunks are being loud with a drone. They can get a visual of 50 people in a backyard though and obviously that is going to be causing a disturbance.

Everything is open for abuse. They can kick your door in at 4am based on a phone call. It's called swatting and it is very common. If they get reports of violations occuring on your property, they get to come check it out. That's how it works.

If anything this will lead to less potentially dangerous situations just like you wanted. Situations where an armed police officer should not have been dispatched to knock on the door of drunk people in the first place.

 

[SmilinDesperado]

Large gatherings are 3 people? I don't think they could even confirm if 3 drunks are being loud with a drone. They can get a visual of 50 people in a backyard though and obviously that is going to be causing a disturbance.

Everything is open for abuse. They can kick your door in at 4am based on a phone call. It's called swatting and it is very common. If they get reports of violations occuring on your property, they get to come check it out. That's how it works.

If anything this will lead to less potentially dangerous situations just like you wanted. Situations where an armed police officer should not have been dispatched to knock on the door of drunk people in the first place.

I'm saying that a "large gathering" isn't a specifically defined term. The cops would be sending a drone to your house on the word of a caller. The caller doesn't even have to have an idea of how many people are there. They could just hear a loud noise and music and call the cops. It'd be very easy for citizens and the cops to abuse this if all it takes is a phone call.

"Everything is open for abuse" so let's give them more ways to abuse isn't a smart play.

There has to be a balance between danger and rights. And the police being able to peer into your house on an anonymous phone call goes beyond that balance.
As far as interactions with the public go, knocking on a door with a house full of people in it seems a lot less risky than pulling someone over on the road.

 

[TUFNewb]

I'm saying that a "large gathering" isn't a specifically defined term. The cops would be sending a drone to your house on the word of a caller. The caller doesn't even have to have an idea of how many people are there. They could just hear a loud noise and music and call the cops. It'd be very easy for citizens and the cops to abuse this if all it takes is a phone call.

"Everything is open for abuse" so let's give them more ways to abuse isn't a smart play.

There has to be a balance between danger and rights. And the police being able to peer into your house on an anonymous phone call goes beyond that balance.
As far as interactions with the public go, knocking on a door with a house full of people in it seems a lot less risky than pulling someone over on the road.

They use that specific terminology all the time, I can tell you it is more than 3 people. My preference would be to let them to use discretion just like with a helicopter and a great many of other things authorities do.

I do share the concern, but "everything is open for abuse so lets provide adequate guardrails and oversight" is a much more reasonable compromise that just screaming "NO!!". I assume that it is illegal for them to look into your house without a warrant. However as I understand generally it is legal to observe from public vantage points or from higher flying aerial vehicles. So really the drones should be at a certain hight so that they can't get much more than a bird's eye view.

It's not necessarily going to be a house full of people as you have stated though. It could be a neighbour who was overreacting. The party could have cleared out before the police finally get there 6 hours later because it is a busy night of violence, robbery, and property theft for them. If you watch some police bodycam footage you will see a great many of police shootings start with a knock on a door late at night. People are more likely to make bad decisions at night, it is phenomenon called "mind after midnight".

 

[MicroBrew]

If your grill is too hot or you’re using a wood brick pizza oven, you will get cited.

Do I like the use of drones for issues like this? Not particularly, but it violates no laws or warrant requirements. It’s going to piss people off, because let’s face it, the parties they monitor are going to be minority parties that have in the past, gotten a little shooty. Hopefully, the nypd uses discretion in deploying the drones, but I doubt it.

So drones will have thermal imaging cameras ?

 

[nhbbear]

So drones will have thermal imaging cameras ?

Maybe, it’s nyc and they were cracking down on wood fired pizza ovens for reasons of global warming or some shit, but that part was a joke