Meet the future New York Police Department Cruiser.
The smart car comes equipped with facial recognition scanners, radiation level detectors and infrared monitors that record license plate numbers.
The NYPD smart cruisers are just one of many high-tech developments laid out in a 13-page initiative called the "NYPD2020" developed for Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly in November, The Wall Street Journal reported. Launched in 2011, the project is meant to guide NYPD development over the next 10 years.
The first of these super cruisers belongs to the 84th Precinct in Brooklyn Heights. The car, a Ford Hybrid, has a scanner that can read license plates and match those numbers to any car that is stolen or might be linked to a crime, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The prototype can also monitor the air for high levels of radiation and record everything in sight from the windshield, Deputy Inspector Brandon del Pozo from the NYPD's Project Management Office, told the New York Daily News.
"It's inevitable that police cars will be bringing more and more technology to the street," del Pozo told the Daily News. "This car features the best technology currently available. It will be able to take information from the street and sent it back to the commanders in headquarters so they can make correct, on-the-spot decisions."
Other police cruisers already have some of the features of the Brooklyn prototype, but it's the only one that has all of the new technology, The Wall Street Journal reported. Del Pozo said smart cars could eventually scan fingerprints and faces for recognition. The cruisers will maximize what the NYPD can do with the cars, besides just using them to get to crime locations.
"If you look in the trunk of a police car, we have a lot of things that aren't smart, but they are necessary," del Pozo told The Wall Street Journal. "We have a shield, we have a fire extinguisher...we have a very powerful flashlight, we have a first aid kit. So, the thought is always, what can cops bring with them to the scene that can increase their effectiveness."
The next NYPD commissioner, William Bratton, is expected to select which new technology will be fully installed or terminated The Wall Street Journal reported.
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