From “invisible” helicopters and mini-submarines to radiation-detecting knapsacks, the NYPD is employing a new generation of high-tech tools to combat terrorism and fight crime.
Officers are getting equipped with space-age gadgets like handheld bomb detectors, being trained in futuristic flight simulators, and traveling in gadget-filled, crime-solving vans. And more gizmos are being tested every day.
The NYPD’s Scuba Team is evaluating devices that allow divers to see underwater sonar images on LCD screens attached to their masks instead of blindly searching murky rivers.
“We’re acquiring advanced technology to prevent crime and terrorism in the first place,” Commissioner Ray Kelly said. “Technology also helps us close the window on the time between when a crime is committed and when the criminal is apprehended. It’s all about distilling information and getting it into the hands of police officers and detectives as soon a possible.”
The future of crime fighting will include patrol cars doubling as mobile radiation detectors, and beat cops with personal digital assistants that allow them to immediately receive photos of stolen cars and suspects, or information on warrants and parolees in a building they’re about to enter.
Detective work will be made easier as case evidence is logged into a computer system, and could be tracked using a global positioning satelite.
Six years ago, the NYPD didn’t even have e-mail. Now, it has 15,000 accounts, and every precinct station house will be linked to the Internet by the end of the month.
“We’re really bringing the technology up well into the 21st century,” said Jim Onalfo, deputy commissioner of the NYPD’s office of technology, a former Kraft Foods exec hired by Kelly in 2003. “It helps them do their jobs faster, better and easier. And, most importantly, it helps keep them safer.”
Special Operations Helicopter
The copter is “invisible” at night – operating without any lights. “Sometimes, we’ll land in a Queens park, and people will hear us but not see us, so they call the cops,” said Detective Chris Tzavelis of the NYPD aviation unit. “Then cops will show up and they can’t find us. That’s how we know everything’s working.”
Using infrared technology and a high-powered camera, officers can zoom in on a license plate or a person from over a mile away – at night. The copter can also track suspects; a small, notebook-size device is attached to a car, allowing the chopper to follow it from above.
Handheld Detectors
Radiation detectors
Many cops carry these $1,500-a-pop beeper-like gadgets, which can be used any time, from routine traffic stops to counterterrorism operations. The technology arrived in 2001, but a new version is coming this month. The new models not only sense levels of radiation, but determine the type of radiation – manmade or natural, or if it’s dangerous alpha, beta, gamma or neutron radiation. “The more information we have, the better we can handle the situation,” said Senior Special Operations Officer David Kao.
Trace explosives detectors
To use this $20,000 gadget, a cop takes a small, white “wipe” out of its Altoids-like container, places it in his or her palm, then casually touches an object suspected of carrying explosives, like a car, a briefcase or a bag. Once the wipe touches the object, the cop goes back to his car and places the wipe inside a black, breadbox-size detector. In 10 seconds, the machine alerts the officer to any
trace of explosives.
Real Time Crime Center
The crown jewel of the department’s high-tech era, the multimillion-dollar room at NYPD headquarters is where crimes are analyzed and investigated as they happen using more than a dozen linked NYPD databases.
As soon as a 911 call is received, the center begins crunching all relevant information, such as names, addresses and phone numbers, and begins spitting out possible links to patterns or other clues. “We are giving detectives a head start,” said Deputy Inspector Kenneth Mekeel. The center has a 15-foot screen than can show 18 individual pictures or one large image. News shows, live surveillance cameras and data analyses cover the board at all times.
Detective Vans
The NYPD updated its fleet this year with four $100,000 vans stacked with laptop computers, cell-phones, fax machines and printers. The vans, which have Mercedes engines and can be used undercover, are linked to the Real Time Crime Center via wireless connection, giving detectives inside the most up-to-date information, including photos of perps, and the ability to send data back to the crime center for instant analysis. “Often, detectives are getting important information before they even get to a scene,” said Mekeel. “It makes their job quicker and much safer.”
Scuba Unit
Sonar
Police divers are testing a new and improved $50,000 sonar device that will not only allow underwater searchers to transmit images back to a boat, but let the diver actually see the sonar picture on two LCD screens fitted on his or her mask. “A lot of times, visibility isn’t good in the water here in New York, so divers can’t see two feet in front of them,” said Lt. John Harkins, commander of the NYPD Scuba Team.
Mini-submarine
The Harbor Unit’s remote operated vehicle -dubbed a “submarine” by cops even though it carries no passengers -is a $60,000 hat-box-size probe that captures video and sonar images underwater. The gizmo, attached to a tether connected to a police boat, is used to inspect the hulls and rudders of ships entering New York City waters, where criminals have been known to hide everything from drugs to people. The cops got the gadget six months ago, and it just finished its first summer of work at the harbor. “It would take a full day to do what the ROV does in a few hours,” Harkins said.
Undercover Radiation Detector
It looks and feels like a backpack, but this $50,000 gadget is not for school supplies. It’s actually a high-powered radiation detector disguised as an innocent school bag – an undercover gizmo counter-terrorism cops got just this year. “The bad guys won’t even see us coming,” said Senior Special Operations Officer David Kao.
The NYPD also invested this year in two $250,000 vans with built-in radiation-detection equipment, as well as individual biochemical and nuclear detection devices. The vans complement a fleet of undercover cars, including vehicles that look like regular, four-door sedans, with the same purpose. “The car next to you could be a radiation detector,” Kao said.
Flight Simulator
Last year, the NYPD added this $600,000 piece of equipment to help train and retrain pilots. The flier sits in a life-size cockpit facing a curved screen. Images on the screen recreate various scenarios in living, realistic color – low visibility, no visibility, engine failure and others. The controls react exactly like an actual helicopter. “If you mess up, you just restart it and do it again,” Tzavelis said. “It’s the best kind of instrument training. It’s not dangerous . . . A facility like this is basically unheard of.” Pilots from other law-enforcement agencies and states use the flight simulator, located at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.