ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) — What if police could see what’s happening at a potential crime scene before they even arrive? The Albuquerque Police Department says it can now do that.
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“I challenge anybody to go research and find me a department that has as much or more technology than us,” Chief Harold Medina said. APD utilizes license plate readers, gunshot detection systems, helicopters, body cameras, bus dash cameras, speed cameras, and now autonomous drones.
Typically, a person operating a drone must be able to see the actual drone. That’s a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirement. But APD says it received a waiver from the federal agency, allowing the department to deploy drones as first responders. “I think, as a whole, this has the potential to greatly increase our efficiency as a police department,” Medina added.
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He explained that more than 50 drones will be housed in what APD is calling “hives,” strategically located on the roofs of seven to nine buildings throughout Albuquerque. Trained operators at the Department’s Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) will dispatch a drone from the closest hive to a potential crime scene.
APD isn’t disclosing the exact locations of the hives. However, the department allowed KRQE Investigates to get a close-up look at how the program will work…