Mount Vernon has invested hundreds of thousands in surveillance devices in the hopes of making the streets safer, but it has privacy advocates up in arms.

Mount Vernon officials are looking at every new piece of technology to bring down crime numbers. Police officials are turning to surveillance cameras, license plates readers and even flying drones to help fight crime and keep the community safe.

The initiative that Mayor Richard Thomas dubbed Project Bright Knight calls for the city to invest $700,000 on technology upgrades. It's even garnered support from key city leaders like Comptroller Maureen Walker, provided she and the mayor can agree on how it can be financed.

While some residents say it is a step further to fight what's going on in the neighborhood, some longtime residents say that surveillance devices like drones are a step too far.

Residents like Thomas Thompson say drones are just too much and they won't work. In a statement, Rashida Richarson of the Legislative Counsel for the NYCLU said that the growing use of surveillance technologies raises serious and new threats to people's privacy. She says meaningful and enforceable privacy protection is needed, and that residents of Mount Vernon must be a part of discussions about whether and how these devices are used.

"There's nothing to worry about unless you do something wrong," counters Mount Vernon Deputy Chief Roy Hastings.