Santa Fe City Council is voting on a proposal to expand the police department’s Drone as First Responder (DFR) program, which would add six new drones to its operations at an estimated cost of over $2 million over five years.
Program Details
Fort Marcy Park is one of three proposed ‘hive’ locations where the drones would be deployed. If police receive a call about an incident at one of these locations, a drone would be dispatched within three minutes as a first responder instead of a police officer.
Santa Fe Interim Police Chief Ben Valdez said the drones are intended to improve safety and reduce response times. ‘One thing we don’t want to have happen is a member of our community or one of our first responders to be injured in the process,’ Valdez said.
Privacy Concerns
Some residents, however, have raised concerns about the program, citing potential privacy infringements. ‘Having more surveillance in this city is really not what we need,’ said Wren Sharkey, a Santa Fe resident.
The department plans to retain non-evidentiary data collected by the drones for 90 days, the same retention period as police body camera footage.
Original reporting: KOAT Albuquerque — read the source article.
