DronesSeattle debates use of drones by police

The debate between law enforcement and privacy advocates over the use  of UAVs is now taking place in Seattle.

Since President Obama signed a bill in February pushing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to allow the use of civilian drones in America by 2015, many law enforcement agencies have been preparing to use drones.

The Daily News reports that in Seattle, police department officials say they want to use drones for homicide and traffic investigations, search and rescue operations, natural disasters, and other situations in which an overhead views would be necessary.

The American Civil Liberties Union has fought in different states to set specific rules for what drones can be used for. Ryan Calo, a faculty member at the University of the Washington School of Law who has written on the issue of drones and privacy, think people will feel violated.

“We associate drones with the theater of war, and we can picture the inscrutable robot flying over the city,” Calo told thee Daily News. “It’s very evocative, and it could provide a real window for us to examine the balance between personal privacy and emerging technology.”

Calo said in a phone interview that people would feel more comfortable with drones if there is legislation at all levels of government. According to Calo, Congress should pass laws directing the FAA to require that all drone applicants state specifically how drones will be used, and if there is a violation, “the FAA could hold them accountable by yanking their license,” Calo said.

According to the Los Angeles Times, FAA administrator Michael Huerta said the agency has repeatedly asked for public input to on address the issue of how drones will be used.

“So while fin-tuning the technology is important, building a human consensus is an equally important task and unbelievably complicate,” Huerta told a gathering of drone manufacturers in Las Vegas.

The Seattle police department has drafted guidelines for drone use and said that drones will not be used to “conduct random surveillance activities.”  The guidelines, however, leave room for drones to be used in other situations, which concerns Jennifer Shaw the deputy director of the ACLU of Washington, who feels the policy is “too broad. They have a list of different emergencies and then a catchall phrase saying the drones can also be used in other situations if they get permission.”

According to Shaw, city leaders have the ability to pass an ordinance that would restrict how and when Seattle police use drones.

“So long as it is a policy, it can be changed. An ordinance cannot be changed at will and is the only way we can be sure there is meaningful input,” Shaw told TDN.

Seattle police Sergeant Sean Whitcomb told TDN the department plans to hold several public hearings to explain the program and get feedback, which could alter the program. Once a policy is drawn up it will be submitted to the City Council’s committee on Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology later this month or early next year.

Drones are currently being used by several local law enforcement agencies. The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado to date has flown more than thirty-five missions, and the Miami-Dade Police Department in Florida has used drones  to provide information to tactical and SWAT teams.