Sheriff to Use Airborne Drones to Fight Crime

By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

Early in February I wrote about the LAPD, and the GPS darts they are using to track criminals and their vehicles. It looks like the LA Sheriff’s Department doesn’t want to be outdone, technology-wise. Over the next few months the department will be testing an airborne drone to use in surveillance situations.

If deputies want a birds’-eye view of a standoff, they might scramble the unmanned drone instead of a helicopter to get a closer, quieter look. Within minutes, real-time color video would be streamed to a portable computer system manned by an officer 250 feet below.

Much lighter and smaller than the military drones flown over Iraq and Afghanistan, and only a fraction of the cost, the aircraft is not much bigger than a model airplane and will initially be limited to scanning rooftops for break-ins and finding lost children or hikers. Source: ABC News

We Say: There are concerns. For example, if a plane is used to gain evidence that police would otherwise need a search warrant to collect, that could be challenged on the basis of privacy rights. Don’t expect to see the drone in “World’s Wildest Police Videos“, either. Top speed is 29 MPH.