Cape Girardeau police describe upgrades: body cameras, ShotSpotter, license-plate readers and expanding drone program

Police Chief Adam Glick described a range of technology investments the Cape Girardeau Police Department has made to support investigations and officer safety, and outlined plans to expand drone use.

"Since I've been chief, we've updated our body worn cameras. We've gotten new mobile data terminals for our cars... We've also made investments with our gunshot technology, our gunshot sensors that are surround around town. It's our, shot spotter system," Glick said, listing the tools the department has added.

He said the department also expanded license-plate reader cameras and is advancing a drone program. "The one program I'm really excited about is our drone program... I really think drones are the future of law enforcement," Glick said, adding that he wants "a drone as a first responder program" to give officers actionable intelligence before they arrive.

Glick gave the interview a concrete example: earlier the same day, the department received a report of gunshots, sent a drone immediately and the drone found a person shooting a deer rather than a violent-crime scene. "We were able to send a drone there immediately. Turned out it was a guy shooting a deer," he said.

Officials did not provide procurement costs, vendor names beyond the generic reference to a "shot spotter system," or detailed operating policies for new systems during the interview. Glick said the technology affects how officers approach scenes and can help with officer safety, suspect searches and evidence collection.

No policy changes, privacy rules or new local ordinances related to these technologies were announced on-air during the segment.