Thanks to FEMA cash the NYPD has a bulletproof boat, but that isn't close to the only toy in the Department's nautical arsenal. A story in today's Times takes a look at the NYPD Harbor Unit, which has become increasingly important to counterterrorism in the past few years. All of which is to say, the NYPD's six remote-controlled submarines will put those flimsy (banned) motorized model boats in Central Park to shame!
Seriously, these are some fancy and expensive toys (four of them, bought in 2007, cost $75,000 each and the other two, bought in 2008, cost $120,000 a pop!) that are crucial, along with the 34 vessels in the department's fleet, in helping the NYPD look around under boats and bridges in our expansive waterways for potential bombs (and drugs, contraband and criminals). So far the drone submarines haven't actually found a bomb, but when they do, the Harbor Unit is ready...to call in the Navy to deal with the bomb ("We mark the location, get out of the water and call them," a detective explains).
Fun fact about the Harbor Unit? It is one of the more physically active units in the NYPD:
These officers are more fit than a typical officer and keep up rigorous training exercises. Their jobs demand they be dropped out of helicopters. They must be able to swim, manage themselves and their gear, help a partner and a possible victim and keep their head all at the same time. Many run triathlons while off duty.
Also? Things we never, ever want to do? Search for a gun or a knife "in the silky muck of the river bottoms ringing the city" where there is "usually zero visibility." Nope, not one bit.
