Another "What could possibly go wrong?"

[coltle6920]

Denver wants to change the way LEO responds to 911 calls. Depending on the nature of the call you might hear a drone overhead rather than sirens in the distance. I believe the reason was to better utilize resources than to admit to budget cuts.

A given example was that if the call involved teens fighting in a park a drone would be sent out first to survey the situation. We all know that seconds matter and if this fight quickly escalated to include gunfire lives could be lost based on a dispatcher's interpretation of the call.

I live in a somewhat small town on the outskirts of Metro Denver. LEO doesn't do much of any patrolling in the residential part but rather hangs out around the business district. I'd like to think that a patrol car could be on scene quicker than a drone.

Another concern to some is if we could eventually see drones patrolling our neighborhoods from above and what the privacy issues would be.

It seems that Big Brother has come up with one more way to keep an eye on us while saying it's for our own protection.

 

[Rudi]

The cops are stretched thin. Localities make it harder and harder to do good policing all the time. Traffic is way down the list. Defund, re-imagine, budget cuts, etc. Just garbage. We all need to be aware.

 

[jeffrefrig]

The business district is where most donut shops are.
Businesses pay more taxes, usually, so the one cop on duty is seen where the money comes from.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

Keep your firearms. You may need them.

 

[Nevada Ed]

I think an eye in the sky is a good thing.

If you are that worried about your privacy,
go inside.

 

[BigBoy99]

How far away are we from "RoboCop" and contract police departments?

 

[biku324]

Drones work and save citizen and officer lives while increasing arrests and convictions. That's even true in Mogadishu, which I left in February.

 

[Skeet 028]

Drones work and save citizen and officer lives while increasing arrests and convictions. That's even true in Mogadishu, which I left in February.

They might in Mogadishu...but there are people responding there.. Here they either may not respond or it'll be too late anyway..Cops responding to scenes is sonething like Firefighter response...For the most part the bad part has already happened. Just an observation ya know?

 

[oldbrownhat]

...It seems that Big Brother has come up with one more way to keep an eye on us while saying it's for our own protection.

It's really more a case of how the tech is used than the tech itself. Like anything, it can be misused. OTOH, look how many people have Ring doorbell cameras and other "internet of things" stuff, which can be be hijacked. And should we trust Amazon's drone delivery? Haven't seen it here but apparently it's in use.

Slightly OT but still regarding drones, this is a local story but probably not unique to us:

Canada's shutdown of Burnaby anti-drone companies likely linked to illicit technology transfer

 

[alwslate]

If you are not breaking the law drones patrolling your neighborhood might be a good thing.

 

[biku324]

They might in Mogadishu...but there are people responding there.. Here they either may not respond or it'll be too late anyway..Cops responding to scenes is sonething like Firefighter response...For the most part the bad part has already happened. Just an observation ya know?

Not sure we're talking about the same Mogadishu!!! They respond in platoons, and never, ever soon.

 

[ladder13]

Drones are being used by home insurance companies( to deny coverage), building depts to check for code violations, EMS to check for people who are stranded/injured while mountain climbing in the boonies, LE to track fleeing felons, etc etc.

Saw an instance last night from OnPatrolLive where a drone was sent into a house looking for a person with warrants. The drone went room to room, then up a hole in the ceiling into the attic.

Miscreant tried to hide from the drone and fell through the ceiling.

 

[GreyOwl]

Time to que the Chinese gun toting robot dogs! Look it up if you haven’t yet heard.

 

[vt_shooter]

Who or what responds when the weather isn't conducive to drones flying? Or is it just understood that evil doers will not do their bad stuff when the weather doesn't permit drones to fly?

 

[Doug M.]

Circumstances dictate tactics. If a pre-check by drone makes better use of limited resources when the odds of any response are low otherwise, then so be it. Cops generally are not the first choice in an emergency. You are on your own until they can get there.

In the real world, money invested in fire/EMS is better for most of us. Criminal problems we can solve for ourselves; fire and medical problems are more complicated and require more specialized skills.

 

[biku324]

Who or what responds when the weather isn't conducive to drones flying? Or is it just understood that evil doers will not do their bad stuff when the weather doesn't permit drones to fly?

Drones are a tool, not a system replacement.

 

[coltle6920]

If you are not breaking the law drones patrolling your neighborhood might be a good thing.

And what if you're not breaking the law but something caught by a drone is shared (for a laugh) around the watercooler.

Remember when there was an issue with TSA screening?

I guess the reply will be "What you don't know can't hurt you."

BTW we're talking about commercial drones and not the ones the military has that can stay up for hours on end.

 

[biku324]

Commercial drones can stay up for hours and travel quickly with useful payloads. They are exponentially more capable than even 3 years ago.

 

[pasound]

My town has it's regional airport sitting on a mountaintop just north of downtown, and 600 feet above the city ground level. It also hosts an Air National Guard base and an adjacent military jet fueling station. As a result, lots of air traffic flying in and out low over the main parts of downtown. Three hospitals also host heliports for the EMS air ambulances.

As a result, the FAA banned all drone use within several miles of the airport and hospitals. Permits for legitimate use take weeks to schedule and pass. And anyone caught flying a drone without a permit are tracked down and the drone confiscated. Egregious first offenders and any second offense is arrest, fines, and jail.

I'm happy with that.

 

[alwslate]

And what if you're not breaking the law but something caught by a drone is shared (for a laugh) around the watercooler.

Remember when there was an issue with TSA screening?

I guess the reply will be "What you don't know can't hurt you."

BTW we're talking about commercial drones and not the ones the military has that can stay up for hours on end.

Strange. I thought this thread was about law enforcement drones patrolling and responding to criminal activity. As far as I know LEOs are not in the habit of ridiculing law abiding people not engaging in criminal activity. BTW paranoia is the most common mental affliction in society.