By Dr. Kerr : westsideobserver – expert
Local anti-crime non-profit Stop Crime SF sponsored “Drones and Public Safety” forum on May 21st at the Northern Police Station on Fillmore Street. Some 50 people attended, including a handful of officers with SFPD’s drone program.
Following introductions by Anna Kearney, Stop Crime SF’s Development Director, and under the watchful eye of co-founder Frank Noto, we heard from officers from SFPD’s Real-Time Investigation Center. The 4 drone models currently in use were displayed, from a tiny 8-inch model to an imposing 26-inch device fitted with a speaker, heat-sensing camera, searchlight, and zoom optics. Attendees were treated to a drone flight demonstration that surveyed the station’s parking lot.
The Real-Time Investigation Team consists of Capt. Thomas Maguire and Lt. Scott Ryan in Strategic Investigations, Capt. Steve Jonas in Field Operations, and Sgt. Tony Suhrke. Dmitri Shimolin, CEO of SafeCity Connect, manages the City’s security camera network and collaborates with SFPD’s drone team.
Capt. Maguire believes that drones, license plate readers and security cameras are partially responsible for the recent decline in crimes. Last year, in collaboration with the Oakland PD, some 500 felony arrests resulted from real-time technology that integrated license plate readers, security camera networks, and drones”…(more)