d decision about the response. 

 We are always looking for better ways to serve and protect the people of Boston, to make sure that when someone dials 911, help arrives as fast as possible,  Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said in late August.

 By putting eyes on a scene in as little as a minute, our 911 dispatch center can activate the needed resources to help our officers approach a fluid, often dangerous situation in the safest way possible for those we serve, as well as for our first responders,  Cox added.

The police say the drones will be clearly marked in BPD livery and come equipped with sirens and emergency lights. Further, the police claim that  privacy guardrails are built into the program  and specify that the cameras will only face down at street level upon arrival at the emergency location.

Calderone said the BPPA, a rank-and-file police union, isn't buying into the department's optimism about the drone pilot program and remains adamantly opposed to what it framed as invasive technology designed to replace police officers at a time when crime is spiking throughout the city.

He said the program is geared toward making Boston more like Los Angeles, where drones are sent off to assess car accidents so the department doesn't have to send a police officer who  understands how to give care and immediate assistance  to those involved in the incident.

 We're calling for more and more bodies on the street to aid and assist and protect our members and the general public,  Calderone said.  It seems that instead of attempting to do that in a serious fashion, this department secretly worked on a drone program as opposed to working harder to hire more police officers.