Page 10 - HOSPITAAL

A4 U.S. NEWS
Monday 31 deceMber 2018

NYPD DRONE rooms, and anyone leaving
Continued from Front the secure area won't be
Police Commissioner James allowed back to their origi-
O'Neill said there are no nal spot. That means they'll
known, credible threats to risk missing the ball drop or
the city or the New Year's having to squint hard to
Eve event. He encouraged see it from a faraway van-
spectators to remain vigi- tage point.
lant and to alert officers if Like last year, the NYPD is
they suspect something is embedding detectives in
awry. hotels around Times Square
"There's probably going to in an attempt to thwart a
be a cop within 10 feet of potential attack like the
you," Miller said. "If you see one in Las Vegas last year
something, you can go in which a gunman shoot-
right to them directly." ing from a hotel room killed
Mayor Bill de Blasio said Fri- 59 people at an outdoor
day that the city is expect- country music festival.
ing "up to 2 million people Police are also harnessing
in Times Square itself" for new technology to detect
the ball drop, repeating a drones that aren't autho-
figure often cited by city of- rized to fly.
ficials, organizers and tele- The NYPD's drone adds to a
vision broadcasters. vast array of visual surveil-
Crowd-size experts say it's lance that includes more
impossible to cram that than 1,200 fixed cameras
many people into the and feeds from police heli-
In this Dec. 31, 2017, file photo, a police K-9 unit patrols in New York's Times Square where crowds area, a bow-tie-shaped copters circling above.
were gathered for the annual New Year's Eve celebration. zone running five blocks The department started
Associated Press between Broadway and using drones this month. It
7th Avenue, and that the says they'll mainly be used
real total is likely fewer than for search-and-rescue mis-
100,000. sions, documenting crime
No matter how many scenes and monitoring
people actually show up, large events.
they'll all be screened with Several of the NYPD's
metal detectors at security drones are equipped with
checkpoints and funneled thermal-imaging and 3D-
into penned off areas to mapping capabilities and
prevent overcrowding. strong camera lenses that
Umbrellas, backpacks and can greatly magnify a sub-
coolers are banned, but ject.
those kitschy "2019" glasses For safety, Chief of Depart-
are most definitely allowed ment Terence Monahan
in. And there won't be any said the New Year's Eve
popping champagne at drone will be tethered to
midnight. The NYPD says al- a building and flown in a
cohol is strictly prohibited. cordoned-off area so that
That might be for the best. no one gets hurt if it hap-
There aren't any bath- pens to fall. The drone will
never fly directly above the
crowd, he said.
Unlike a helicopter, a drone
is small and makes little
noise. Between the sounds
of performers like Christina
Aguilera and Bastille and
the confetti that'll be swirl-
ing at midnight, Monahan
said some spectators might
not even notice it.
"Once it's up in the air, it will
probably be hard to see,"
he said.q