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Agency records · NY

New York City Police Department

Drone program records for New York City. Each fact keeps its source and checked date.

Written rules describe policy, not proof that every operation follows it. Reported equipment totals and mapped source locations have different scopes. A launch facility is not a drone count or a flight track.

Program status reported by the source

Policy updated February 4, 2026 describes station-house drone first response and other UAS missions. No current aircraft total or launch locations are inferred.

Source. Checked 2026-10-23; source date 2026-02-04.

What the public record establishes

NYPD publishes quarterly mission counts by purpose and borough. Uses are not numbers of aircraft or permanent camera locations.

Source. Checked 2026-10-23.

Drone vendors

Skydio, DJI, Brinc, Nightingale Security, Autel

DJI models were previously acquired; Autel is listed solely for calibration. Current fleet quantities are unverified.

Source. Checked 2026-10-23; source date 2026-02-04.

Data retention

Drone videos remain on the cloud platform for 39 months; Legal Bureau extensions cover litigation, subpoenas, FOIL and other legal processes. Case-investigation records follow classification-dependent schedules.

Source section Printed pages 8-9. Checked 2026-10-23; source date 2026-02-04.

Access and oversight

Trained, FAA-certified NYPD pilots operate the aircraft. Role-based system access requires a lawful-duty need; remote computer access uses two factors. Missions receive deployment forms and automated flight logs.

Source section Printed pages 7-8 and 11. Checked 2026-10-23; source date 2026-02-04.

Recording rules

The policy permits thermal video and supervised object tracking. It disclaims onboard facial recognition, but allows a video still to be used as a facial-recognition probe elsewhere. Privacy-area deployments require a warrant absent exigent circumstances.

Source section Printed pages 5-6, including footnote 4. Checked 2026-10-23; source date 2026-02-04.

Sharing rules

The policy allows temporary external video-feed access and lawful disclosures, including prosecutors and partner agencies, with identifying-information safeguards. It prohibits immigration-enforcement sharing; actual recipients and compliance were not audited.

Source section Printed pages 9-10. Checked 2026-10-23; source date 2026-02-04.

Details not yet verified

Reported drones, Operational partners, Named data-sharing partners, Contract value, Contract start date, Contract end date. No value is inferred from a county map count or another agency's policy.

Source documents

Geographic county records

These are sourced geographic relationships, not findings about police service boundaries, camera ownership or an agency inventory.

Exact Census SUMLEV157 New York city parts, place 51000, in Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens and Richmond counties. These are city geography links, not a police service-boundary or equipment-inventory finding.

Geographic source, checked 2026-10-24.

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