Ray says flying Air Bloomberg those infamous free rides for him and wifey his fav way to travel??
Anyone others offering ray free bees???
NYPD Planned Use of Arial Drones
'Information is private' - NYC policeon drone surveillance despite overall openness and transparency
The New York City Police Department seeks to use unmanned aerial systems or drones for police work in the city, but escapes transparency and the public’s authorization on the advanced surveillance equipment, despite the prescribed openness on using drones by the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
By Unnamed Author(s) — Wednesday, November 27th, 2013 ‘The Voice of Russia’ (Radio News) / Moscow, Russia
The New York City Police Departmentseeks to use unmanned aerial systems or drones for police work in the city, but escapes transparency and the public’s authorization on the advanced surveillance equipment, despite the prescribed openness on using drones by theInternational Association of Chiefs of Police.
In 2012 the Federal Aviation Administration released its list of agencies authorized to use drones, but the NYPD was not on the list, although earlier the head of the New York City Police Department announced that the largest local law enforcement agency in the United States might soon rely on spy drones for conducting surveillance. Even the outgoing NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that almost in five years drones would fly over the city with the face recognition software.
The NYPD has been one among the first agencies to receive new technologies and the next promising innovations for law enforcement. Since the September 11 attacks, the NYPD has developed one of the most advanced surveillance units in the world, with direct help from the CIA and plenty of cash to buy equipment like license plate readers and networked video cameras.
But this time, the NYPD did not apply for the new surveillance equipment for its agency. Although the usage of unmanned aircraft equipment above US cities requires special permission, besides any agencies must first obtain a training waiver, which restricts flight operations to uninhabited areas.
The NYPD was sent a request byMuckRock.com asking for records of any purchases of drone units, drone policies, and consultations on deploying these machines in the field.
The NYPD’s Freedom of Information unit responded, saying that "information is private," adding that "the release of such documents would represent an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."
In addition, the NYPD rejected the request was vague and that it did "not reasonably described a record in a manner that would enable a search to be conducted." The tactic familiar to anyone who asks the NYPD for documents on a regular basis, particularly around surveillance practices.
Similar requests were sent to more than 350 other agencies around the country, but none of them provided documents. The CIA also "can neither confirm nor deny" details of its widely dissected weaponized drone program.
According to theMuckRock.com the Seattle police kept its purchase of two drones in secret for a year and a half. But after considerable backlash and heated public discussions, the mayor ordered police to shut down all drone training and ship their drones back to the manufacturer.
The Boston police Chief Ed Davis was widely quoted as saying "Drones are an interesting technology" and "an inexpensive way to get up high and to give the officers information that they need" in the days after the Boston Marathon bombing.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police has prescribed openness as one of its core guidelines on using drones, advising agencies considering the technology to first "engage their community early in the planning process," it seems that the police departments across the USA want to keep silence on their drone programs and purchases.
