The New York Police Department (NYPD) is reportedly planning to use drones and gunshot detectors to fight crime in the city.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton has said that the unmanned machines equipped with cameras and tiny microphones could help spy on crime hotspots like housing projects, where shootings are up about 32 percent this year, New York Daily News reported.
Bratton said that he himself is supportive of the concept of drones for the police and public safety.
John Miller, the NYPD's head of intelligence, said that police are studying how to fly drones and are also looking at what's on the market and what's available.
Calling the technology a potentially valuable weapon against crime, Miller revealed that the NYPD is yet to deploy a drone.
The report added that while drones don't appear to be part of the city's immediate future, the NYPD has already budgeted 500,000 dollars for a pilot program to test gunshot detectors.