Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you. Thank you so much, Justin. And I think that one of the concerning things for me is when Deputy Mayor Banks gave me analysis of the population of men and women in law enforcement— and really, in criminal justice— how those numbers are decreasing substantially across the country. And what we must do is look at existing technology and see how do we continue to be innovative in its use.
And I think that's what we're doing today. You're going to hear me say it over and over again, public safety and justice are the prerequisite to our prosperity, particularly in our subway system. When people feel unsafe to use our trains and buses, it impacts our economic stability as well; and so, we must use every available method to continue to see our city be the safest big city in America.
And that's what we're doing. We're taking existing technology, cameras being able to communicate with people, and we're placing it on wheels and ensuring that it could be use 24 hours, seven days a week if needed, but it will be there for proper use all the time.
Recently, we used a tethered drone on Randall's Island to provide real time information that helped disperse a concert crowd safely at Randall's Island. It was a very successful initiative, and it saved thousands of dollars in manpower. We cannot tell you how properly using technology saved money. We're saying it over and over again in the deployment of manpower, being able to a view from the ground or in the air really allows the proper deployment of manpower and police resources. I'm seeing it every day at these different scenes of emergencies: when you are able to use this technology properly, you could properly deploy your personnel.
Today we're launching a pilot program to test the Knightscope K5 Security Robot. The NYPD must be on the forefront of technology and be two steps ahead of those utilizing technology to hurt New Yorkers— and trust me, they are. Don't think we're the only ones that are being innovative, bad guys are being innovative all the time. That is part of the GLA problem we're having, they're using technology to steal cars and they're staying ahead of other agencies. They won't stay ahead of us.
Devices like the K5 have the possibility to serve as a deterrent to crime or at least learn best practices while using technology going forward. Here's what New Yorkers can expect from this new mindset that I have of by using preexisting technology, and this is what you could expect with this mindset that we are going to have.
The K5 will operate between midnight and six a.m. at the Times Square Subway Station for two months. With the duration of the trial, it will be accompanied by a police officer at all times, and for the first two weeks, it will be trained to map out the station, will move around the main station area and not on the platform. We want to be clear on that.
It will record video that can be viewed in case of an emergency or a crime. It will not record audio, and it will not use facial recognition. However, the K5 does have a button that connects you immediately to a live person that New Yorkers can utilize 24/7 with questions, concerns or to report an incident if needed. At the end of the two months, we'll assess the robot's effectiveness and decide whether and how we'll continue to use it moving forward.
New Yorkers have strong opinions on technology. I like to say 8.3 million New Yorkers, 35 million opinions, so you're going to hear them all, but they are going to feel the presence of technology that will continue to keep them safe. And while I believe it is our duty to utilize state of the art technology advancements to help keep New Yorkers safe, I believe we must do it wisely and not intrusively.
We're committed to exploring innovative tools to continue to make this city the safest big city in America, and this robot K5, it has the potential to serve as an important tool in our toolbox. It is only by constantly adapting, testing and innovating will continue to stay ahead of those who want to harm everyday New Yorkers. It is our goal to look at these preexisting forms of technology and allow them to continue to keep New Yorkers safe in a very real way in real time.
So again, I want to thank the entire MTA team for really partnering with us to make sure that we can effectively deploy this new robot we have here to be part of our overall advancement in keeping our subway riders safe. I've gone a long way from being a transit cop to being next to a robot. We're going to keep us safe no matter which way we do it. Thank you.
No comments:
Post a Comment