PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia police will be using high-tech gadgets to ensure safety at the city’s semiquincentennial events this summer.
Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel told City Council during budget hearings last week that large crowds at multiple events over the course of 40 days this summer will tax the police department as it’s never been before, with hundreds of thousands of visitors expected.
“We do a lot of big events, but this is going to be the biggest continuum of activity,” he said.
Still, Bethel assured City Council that preparations are comprehensive and multi-level. The police department will have lots of help from state and federal partners and is gearing up with new technology, including drone diversion.
The department received $7 million in federal funds to train officers in drone remediation, meaning they can divert drones from overflying crowds.
“We can send them back to where they came from, or we can force them into a designated area where we want them to go,” Bethel explained.
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And with so many international visitors expected, police body cameras are being equipped with translation tools.
“There are over 100 languages, so what will happen is the officers will listen to someone use a language, it will interpret that language,” Bethel said.
The city is also investing half a million dollars in measures to prevent human trafficking during the events.
The World Cup matches in Philadelphia are considered the highest security events, but Emergency Management Director Dom Mireles said it won’t come at the expense of the rest of the city.
“The pillar has always been, we will not sacrifice 911 response service,” he said.
Philadelphia police utilizing high-tech gadgets to ensure safety at 2026 festivities
