New helicopters with high-tech cameras and a small fleet of drones that can help with crowd control and search warrants were unveiled Monday at Metropolitan Police’s aviation outpost in Southeast.
Police Chief Pamela Smith said the department swapped out its old pair of helicopters for two new ones that are more agile and fuel-efficient and can upload high-resolution photos to MPD’s massive surveillance hub, the Real Time Crime Center.
The department’s five weaponless drones can be used to help monitor large protests in the District and investigate suspicious items from a safe distance.
But the chief made clear that the drones — while able to assist with everything from barricade situations and traffic accidents to searching for missing persons and even joining some pursuits — will not become a part of everyday policing in the city.
“We’re utilizing our drones for tactical operations only,” Chief Smith said. “That means that they will not be used for patrol operations.”
Chief Smith said the drones will only be used upon request. Officers on the street will have to ask their watch commander for a drone deployment, and the commander will then need to get clearance from the MPD’s chief of the Homeland Security Bureau.
Chief Smith said the drones will not actively record people outside a crime scene and won’t use facial recognition technology.
Officers will have to complete preflight and postflight accountability checklists on drone missions, the chief said. MPD’s webpage for the drones said the aircraft can’t be launched to record someone based on their: race, sex, religion, nationality, age, sexual orientation or personal appearance.
But she said drones will be key in picking out any criminal agitators taking part in protests since the airborne unit can identify and track a suspect quicker than officers on the ground trying to navigate through a crowd.
A demonstration Monday had a police drone zoom in on a garbage can over 100 yards away and still maintain high image quality.
“When that peaceful protest turns into an element of crime, we can now utilize the drone to be able to [get] eyes-in-the-sky [and] zero down on what’s happening,” the chief said, while emphasizing that the devices aren’t meant to infringe on First Amendment rights. “We now have the technology to be able to get in here and see what’s happening — and it also keeps our officers safe.”
Police said the helicopters will still fly under the callsigns Falcon 1 and Falcon 2, but are now Airbus H-125s instead of the old AS 350 B3s.
The new choppers have their own augmented reality mapping system that lets pilot crews lock onto specific cars or buildings. The choppers are key in tracking carjacking and homicide suspects who are trying to evade squad cars on the ground.
Police data said the helicopters assisted in 194 arrests and responded to over 1,500 calls last year.
The new air units come as violent crime is down 27% year-over-year in the District, according to police. Homicides are down 22%, robberies are down 31% and carjackings are down 44% through that same time period.
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