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today. Today's forecast

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calls for sunny skies in New York City

0:25

with a high near 60 and a

0:27

low near 43. It's Thursday,

0:29

April 17th, and this is

0:31

your Burrows in Brief. The

0:34

NYPD

0:37

invests in new tech to

0:39

combat drones used for nefarious

0:41

purposes, documents show. The following

0:43

comes from Gothamist and Ben

0:45

Foyerherd. The NYPD's counterterrorism division is

0:47

investing in new technology to

0:49

combat what it said is

0:52

a growing threat to New

0:54

Yorkers, drones that could be

0:56

used for nefarious purposes, documents

0:58

reviewed by Gothamist Show. Last

1:00

year, months before the public's

1:02

attention was captivated by reports

1:04

of mysterious drones circling New

1:06

Jersey skies, the NYPD signed

1:08

a $383 ,744 contract to

1:10

buy a drone tracking system

1:12

from a private company, according

1:15

to the contract, which was reviewed

1:17

by Gothamist. The system is

1:19

designed to be placed at a

1:21

single location, where it can use

1:23

radio frequencies, cameras, and radar to

1:25

identify and track drones in city

1:27

airspace. contract shows. Given

1:29

the rise in popularity in drone

1:31

usage amongst the populace, it is

1:34

believed that drone detection will continue

1:36

to be a topic of emphasis

1:38

going forward, especially to prevent the

1:40

usage of drones for nefarious purposes,

1:42

the contract said. The NYPD views

1:44

the technology as a critical tool

1:46

for officers who work to combat

1:49

terrorism threats in the city,

1:51

according to the contract. The NYPD's

1:53

counterterrorism division is responsible for

1:55

detecting unauthorized drones at major events

1:57

and at areas of critical

1:59

infrastructure in the city, according to the

2:02

contract. The NYPD views drones as

2:04

a possible public safety threat and,

2:06

therefore, the department needs to track

2:08

their flights across the city, an

2:10

NYPD spokesperson said in response to

2:12

questions about the contract. Our specialized

2:14

counter -unmanned aerial system -trained officers have

2:16

recently invested in more robust drone

2:18

detection capabilities to better protect the

2:20

public. The NYPD did not immediately

2:22

provide information about how many drone

2:25

-related incidents they responded to in

2:27

the city this year. They also

2:29

didn't say where their drone tracking

2:31

technology is placed in the city.

2:33

Experts who spoke to Gothamist were

2:35

divided on the importance of drone

2:37

surveillance. Dr. William Austin, a drone

2:39

expert from New Jersey who serves

2:41

as president and chief drone pilot

2:43

of Warren Community College, said he

2:46

was encouraged that the NYPD is

2:48

investing in drone tracking technology. It's

2:50

probably very wise, Austin said. This

2:52

is something that I think all

2:54

law enforcement in the nation will

2:56

do, so it doesn't surprise me.

2:58

It gives me some confidence to

3:00

know that New York is ahead

3:02

of the curve, and they have

3:04

been ahead of the curve on

3:06

drones for some years, he added.

3:09

In December, when the apparent drone

3:11

sightings in New Jersey caused public

3:13

hysteria, Austin and his students monitored

3:15

the skies and concluded residents were

3:17

being whipped into a frenzy by

3:19

people misidentifying common airplanes. During the

3:21

time, he made numerous media appearances

3:23

in an effort to stop the

3:25

panic. Austin said drone tracking technology

3:27

could help prevent another episode like

3:30

the one in New Jersey because

3:32

officials will be able to correctly

3:34

discern drones from other types of

3:36

aircraft. This is going to be

3:38

a critical help to law enforcement

3:40

as well in not misidentifying aircraft,

3:42

Austin said. But not everyone is

3:44

sold on the technology. Albert Fox

3:46

Khan, a civil liberties advocate and

3:48

founder of the Surveillance Technology Oversight

3:51

Project, said the NYPD's purchase shows

3:53

a double standard in public finances.

3:55

At a time when so many

3:57

agencies are seeing so many pressures

3:59

to cut staffing, to cut spending,

4:01

the NYPD continues to have seemingly

4:03

a blank check when it comes

4:05

to new technology, he said. The

4:07

justification for using a system like

4:09

this is that the tools the

4:11

NYPD already used aren't up to

4:14

the job, he added. So the

4:16

question I have for them is

4:18

how much money have they spent

4:20

on this drone tech already? How

4:22

often is it getting it wrong?

4:24

The NYPD bought the new tracking

4:26

system from the company Sentinel Consulting

4:28

LLC to supplement technology the department

4:30

already had in its toolkit. Prior

4:32

to buying the new technology, the

4:35

department used mobile detection systems to

4:37

track unmanned aircraft, but those had

4:39

a limited range, according to the

4:41

contract. Notice of the contract was

4:43

publicly posted on January 29th. Sentinel

4:45

Consulting referred a request for comment

4:47

to the NYPD. Gothamist is funded

4:49

by sponsors and member donations and

4:51

relies on your support to make

4:53

local news available to everyone. Make

4:55

your contribution now and help Gothamist

4:58

thrive in 2025. Just head

5:00

to Gothamist .com. That's all for now. My

5:02

name is Imran Shaikh. Make sure to

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support and subscribe to your local New

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York news outlets like the ones you

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heard today. The

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next

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song is...

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Spoken Layer