New York state troopers are at the forefront of artificial intelligence as they will deploy drones in certain areas to conduct official police work.
The Governor’s Office announced Wednesday that 18 new unmanned aircrafts will be deployed for use by Troop A in Western New York, including Genesee, Orleans, Wyoming and other counties in the Buffalo area. The rest will be Troop D in the Syracuse area, Troop F in the Catskills, plus Troop G in the Albany area.
The drones will be used by New York state troopers to take photos at crime scenes, help with disaster relief, aid with traffic safety and more. Some of the jobs performed by drones may be too dangerous for human police officers to conduct.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that the unmanned aircrafts are state of the art and they will help respond to official police business at a faster rate. The office added that the drones will not be used for surveillance purposes.
Additionally, all footage obtained by these drones will be deleted after 30 days as long as it doesn’t serve any law enforcement purposes. One of the ways the drones will help is by documenting and reconstructing serious car accidents on the road fast than usual.
The troopers who operate the drones will have to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, plus they will undergo 32 hours of hands-on training.
