New York State is preparing to give local police departments $75 million in funding to buy new law enforcement technology.
The program, called LETECH, allowed law enforcement in the Capital Region to purchase drones, pole cameras and technology that models accident and crime scenes during a previous round of funding.
At a demonstration of the law enforcement technology Tuesday at Hudson Valley Community College, Schenectady Police Chief Brian Whipple said his department has used drones to locate missing persons, follow suspects fleeing a scene and make decisions about how to dispatch officers.
“Before an officer even gets dispatched to a call, he’s already got a drone in the air flying to that location, and he doesn't have to stop at stop signs, doesn't have to wait for anybody,” Whipple said. “He’s able to go and get eyes in the sky.”
The New York Civil Liberties Union has criticized the use of drones in law enforcement, asserting that drones can easily be used for surveillance and that police agencies have not proven drones work well as first responders and can easily be used for surveillance.
“Drones are first and foremost a surveillance technology — so using them always raises significant constitutional concerns — but there is also the danger that utilizing drones will shift funding away from in-person, human responders, or other supportive programs that are better equipped to keep people safe,” the NYCLU wrote in a 2025 report that named the Schenectady Police Department.
Whipple said Tuesday that the department releases drone flight paths after 24 hours and has internal oversight of the program.
“When we fly around, we have our cameras facing in an upward direction, so we’re not checking out anyone’s backyards. We’re not trying to follow anybody. We’re not doing any sort of surveillance,” Whipple said. “Quite frankly, we don’t have time to do any surveillance. It's kind of funny, but it is true, and we do say that.”
In order to be eligible for LETECH grants, law enforcement agencies must be in compliance with the recently enacted Local Cops, Local Crimes Act, which bans local law enforcement from signing or maintaining 287(g) contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office has had a 287(g) agreement with ICE since 2020, according to data from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
