Police drones hit America

Recently - which in the context of this avowedly 'occasional' blog means last month - I posted on Merseyside police's ill-fated use of an aerial drone to track down a teenage car thief. They ran into legal troubles, for the relatively trivial reason that the Civil Aviation Authority, which is concerned about the threat these devices pose to other air traffic, had not granted the appropriate license.

It sounds like police drones are spreading like flies in summer. By the look of this report from Texas' Local 2 TV news, they have crossed the Atlantic:

Speaking as someone who has described this issue with phrases such as 'repressive science fiction dystopias' and 'Judge Dredd', I take my hat off to the delightfully excitable tone of the reporter in this clip. I don't think any non-American could compete; it's just something about the accent. You can tell he had fun ambushing the "secret test".

The truth is that Local 2 didn't know precisely what these drones would be used for, but their suggestion that they could be used to crack down on petty crimes like speeding* is consistent with the UK experience. And the wonderfully-named Professor Rocky Rhodes of South Texas College of Law when considering the ability of these airborne cameras to peer into people's homes or vehicles:

One issue is going to be: are law enforcement using this, and when by using these drones are they conducting a search in which they would need probable cause or a warrant?

* Disclaimer: Of course, I accept that speeding isn't always a petty crime - it can be dangerous, even lethal, although it's often not. But based on past practice I'd be surprised if the police made this description when deciding whether or not to employ drones.