The newest Reason-Rupe poll
has found that
58 percent of Americans think law enforcement’s use of militarized
weapons, armored vehicles and drones has gone too far. While
Americans may be able to see cops
riding around in MRAPS wearing riot gear, it’s the militarized
tools that Americans don’t see like drones flying over their
backyards that may be just as scary to them.
When Sheriff Gregory Ahern of Alameda County said that he wanted
to use a drone for search and rescue
at a public protection committee meeting in February 2013,
privacy advocates and residents pushed back, claiming that it would
be too easy for the sheriff’s department to surveil citizens.
“This drone
is just another mechanism to invade people’s privacy and spy on
them,” said one woman at the meeting.
Residents may have had cause for concern. Muckrock news and the Electronic Frontier Foundation submitted
a public records request to the department seeking information
about what Sheriff Ahern wanted to use the drone for. They received
an internal memorandum saying the department was seeking a
homeland security grant to fight terrorism and was seeking a drone
that could basically see through walls with infrared
technology:
The Alameda County Sheriff seeks to purchase a Draganfly
drone (model unspecified), which will be equipped with “live video
downlink and Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR).” FLIR cameras detect
infrared radiation given off by heat sources, such as people and
animals. In California in particular, thermal imaging
systems such as FLIR have been used by law enforcement to search
out indoor cannabis production facilities.
For more on Alameda county and reasons why Americans are
concerned about drones watch, Cops with Drones:
Alameda Co., CA, Weighs Technology vs. Privacy:
from Hit & Run http://reason.com/blog/2013/12/13/reason-rupe-poll-americans-still-uncomfo
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