• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Subscribe to the Magazine
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Editor’s Picks
    • The power of teamwork
      Stay awake and alert on the job
      The worst rank in law enforcement
      Firearms maintenance
      Why fries need salt
  • Topics
    • On the Job
      • Former head of Baltimore police reforms tapped as Phoenix Police...
        Vape smoke detecting K-9 joins SRO to deter kids from vaping in school
        Dallas police officer shoots armed woman who claimed to be the wife...
        Nogales officer reunites with teen after saving his life during...
        Massachusetts police officer saves choking 2-month-old baby
    • Labor
      • Florida continues to tout benefits of out-of-state police recruitment...
        Washington state leaders propose additional police academy training...
        Entire police force quits in small North Carolina town to protest...
        Minneapolis neighborhoods aim to “buy back” police overtime hours...
        Violent crime increases across Washington
    • Tech
      • Use of drone technology on the rise in law enforcement
        Your guide to the alternate “dark nets”
        NYPD deploys K-9s with innovative electronic harness to prevent...
        Understanding end-to-end encryption apps
        Local law enforcement agencies learn to recover stolen cryptocurrency
    • Training
      • Pinellas County law enforcement conducts active shooter drills with...
        Oklahoma initiates new active shooter training for law enforcement...
        The importance of dirt in your use-of-force training program
        Solo officer response
        An equation for performing lawful Terry stops
    • Policy
      • Knoxville Police Department says officers will no longer respond to...
        Law enforcement agencies hope to increase female police recruits to...
        Sterling Heights Police Department launches transparency dashboard to...
        L.A. adds speed bumps to 6th Street Viaduct to prevent street racing
        Highland Park mass shooter indicted on 117 charges
    • Health/Wellness
      • Defining and solving accumulated police stress
        Process versus outcome thinking
        Anger is not the problem
        True detectives: Psychological realities of investigative work
        Effective use of chaplain services
    • Community
      • Detroit Police Department gives son of fallen officer new car for his...
        West Virginia police agencies donate cruisers to Kentucky department...
        Clark County community rallies to support family of fallen officer...
        Tennessee police officer escorts 84-year-old woman to her hair...
        Missouri sheriff’s department gives middle schoolers an inside view...
    • Offbeat
      • Son calls 9-1-1 to say he shot his father “too many times”
        New Hampshire police arrest Corvette driver for going over 160 mph in...
        Oregon residents catch suspected arsonist, tie him to tree for police
        California burglar returns to the scene of the crime after forgetting...
        Massive snake shot by police while wrapped around man’s neck
    • We Remember
      • Rookie officer in Indiana shot and killed during traffic stop
        CrossFit competition “Monster Games” honors fallen officers
        A final ride for the fallen
        Memorializing our fallen sisters
        Paying Tribute to Fallen Heroes
  • On the Job
    • Former head of Baltimore police reforms tapped as Phoenix Police...
      Vape smoke detecting K-9 joins SRO to deter kids from vaping in school
      Dallas police officer shoots armed woman who claimed to be the wife...
      Nogales officer reunites with teen after saving his life during...
      Massachusetts police officer saves choking 2-month-old baby
  • Labor
    • Florida continues to tout benefits of out-of-state police recruitment...
      Washington state leaders propose additional police academy training...
      Entire police force quits in small North Carolina town to protest...
      Minneapolis neighborhoods aim to “buy back” police overtime hours...
      Violent crime increases across Washington
  • Tech
    • Use of drone technology on the rise in law enforcement
      Your guide to the alternate “dark nets”
      NYPD deploys K-9s with innovative electronic harness to prevent...
      Understanding end-to-end encryption apps
      Local law enforcement agencies learn to recover stolen cryptocurrency
  • Training
    • Pinellas County law enforcement conducts active shooter drills with...
      Oklahoma initiates new active shooter training for law enforcement...
      The importance of dirt in your use-of-force training program
      Solo officer response
      An equation for performing lawful Terry stops
  • Policy
    • Knoxville Police Department says officers will no longer respond to...
      Law enforcement agencies hope to increase female police recruits to...
      Sterling Heights Police Department launches transparency dashboard to...
      L.A. adds speed bumps to 6th Street Viaduct to prevent street racing
      Highland Park mass shooter indicted on 117 charges
  • Health/Wellness
    • Defining and solving accumulated police stress
      Process versus outcome thinking
      Anger is not the problem
      True detectives: Psychological realities of investigative work
      Effective use of chaplain services
  • Community
    • Detroit Police Department gives son of fallen officer new car for his...
      West Virginia police agencies donate cruisers to Kentucky department...
      Clark County community rallies to support family of fallen officer...
      Tennessee police officer escorts 84-year-old woman to her hair...
      Missouri sheriff’s department gives middle schoolers an inside view...
  • Offbeat
    • Son calls 9-1-1 to say he shot his father “too many times”
      New Hampshire police arrest Corvette driver for going over 160 mph in...
      Oregon residents catch suspected arsonist, tie him to tree for police
      California burglar returns to the scene of the crime after forgetting...
      Massive snake shot by police while wrapped around man’s neck
  • We Remember
    • Rookie officer in Indiana shot and killed during traffic stop
      CrossFit competition “Monster Games” honors fallen officers
      A final ride for the fallen
      Memorializing our fallen sisters
      Paying Tribute to Fallen Heroes
  • Between the Lines
    • Persecution of the LEO is Classic Schadenfreude
      The Rule of Law is Worthless Without Order
      School policing: a paradox of the defund movement
      Defending the honor of the LE profession – finally!
      The dichotomy of the defund movement: reality setting in
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Search

Tech

Use of drone technology on the rise in law enforcement

APB Team Published July 26, 2022 @ 6:00 am PDT

iStock.com/Bastiaan Slabbers

Law enforcement’s use of drone technology for the purposes of surveillance and crime-fighting has met with considerable criticism and legal roadblocks from privacy advocates, but data from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) shows that drones are likely to stay after all.

According to the EFF — a nonprofit that focuses on technology’s impact on civil rights — roughly 1,172 police departments across the country are utilizing drones for a variety of purposes, including search and rescue missions, surveillance and crowd monitoring.

“Over time, we can expect more law enforcement agencies to deploy them,” the EFF wrote in an article on their website.

“Drones don’t disappear once the initial justification for purchasing them no longer seems applicable. Police will invent ways to use their invasive toys, which means that drone deployment finds its way into situations where they are not needed, including everyday policing and the surveillance of First Amendment-protected activities.”

The Baltimore Police Department is one agency that has shown interest in drones since they first became available to law enforcement but has faced an uphill battle along the way.

In 2020, the BPD finally got its Aerial Investigation Research program off the ground again after it was shut down four years prior due to public backlash.

The pilot program, which received funding from two Texas billionaires, relied on drones to capture surveillance of the city over a period of six months and gathered around 12 hours of footage covering 90% of the city during that time.

However, the city council voted to end the program in February 2021 after a long court battle in which a federal appeals court ruled that it violated the Fourth Amendment.

According to the BPD, the images obtained by the drones during the program will be destroyed.

“The vast majority of the imagery … will be deleted,” and “any imagery not identified as relevant to a criminal investigation and reduced to an evidentiary packet will be destroyed after 45 days,” the BPD said in a statement.

A report from the Policing Project at NYU Law looked into BPD’s pilot program and gave several recommendations on how it can balance privacy issues with public safety.

“AIR collects data in bulk about the movements of people in its range, the vast majority of whom have done nothing in particular deserving of the government’s attention,” the study found.

To mitigate privacy risks, the study advocated for greater legislative oversight over the lawful use of drones in law enforcement programs.

Ultimately, the report was favorable to the BPD’s use of drones and found that the sacrifices to privacy were necessary to combat crime in the fourth-most dangerous city in the country.

“Some substantial portion of the population is subjected to surveillance, in the hope of advancing public safety,” the report wrote. “Were it not for the concern for public safety, there would be no need for surveillance.”

“Law enforcement’s use of surveillance technologies, particular ones as powerful as AIR, must be operated transparently and with public input,” the report concluded.

From various sources, it is clear that law enforcement agencies and drone manufacturers have no desire to abandon hopes of long-term partnerships.

“Drones remotely dispatched from the field could be part of law enforcement’s future, but before this becomes a reality, more law enforcement agencies need to deploy UAVs on a regular basis. As more and more agencies decide to deploy drones, they need to ensure their officers are properly trained and utilizing UAVs in a way that keeps public safety and privacy at the forefront of their deployment practices,” Clovis Police Department Captain Curt Fleming wrote.

“Agencies should also seek out companies who are leading the way in UAV advancements to explore how to best integrate UAVs into law enforcement’s response to in-progress calls.”

Categories: Tech Tags: Fourth Amendment, Electronic Frontier Foundation, future, surveillance, privacy, civil rights, research, Baltimore Police Department, drone technology, UAV

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • Son calls 9-1-1 to say he shot his father “too many times”
  • Knoxville Police Department says officers will no longer respond to minor crashes to prioritize serious calls
  • New Hampshire police arrest Corvette driver for going over 160 mph in 70-mph zone
  • Law enforcement agencies hope to increase female police recruits to 30% in initiative
  • Florida continues to tout benefits of out-of-state police recruitment program
  • Sterling Heights Police Department launches transparency dashboard to foster community trust
  • Rookie officer in Indiana shot and killed during traffic stop
  • Detroit Police Department gives son of fallen officer new car for his 16th birthday
  • West Virginia police agencies donate cruisers to Kentucky department hit hard by flooding
  • Clark County community rallies to support family of fallen officer while honoring his memory

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

The power of teamwork

The power of teamwork

July 23, 2021

Stay awake and alert on the job

Stay awake and alert on the job

July 20, 2021

The worst rank in law enforcement

The worst rank in law enforcement

July 19, 2021

Firearms maintenance

Firearms maintenance

July 04, 2021

Privacy Policy | Copyright © 2022 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close
Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.