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The Los Angeles Police Commission said it cites the success of seeing other police stations around the country using drones. This said LAPD could deploy unmanned aerial vehicles through daily emergency calls.
The private watchdog approved an updated policy on Tuesday that would allow drones to be used in more situations, including a “call for services.” The new guidelines list other scenarios regarding future drone use – such as “high-risk incidents, investigation purposes, large-scale events, natural disasters,” and the orders have been moved from the Air Support Department to the Special Operations Bureau.
Previously, nine drones in the department were restricted to a narrow series of dangerous situations involving suspects or explosives.
LAPD CMDR. Brian Leum told the committee that technology responds to officers and their supervisors with important, real-time information about the types of threats they may encounter while responding to an emergency.
Authorities said there was strong community support for expanding drones’ use to combat crime, providing peace of mind that the new policies will not be used unconstitutionally.
Tuesday’s vote paves the way for the pilot program, which will launch next month in four police departments: Topanga, West LA, Port and Central. The committee asked the department to report on program progress within six months.
Commissioner Rasha Gerges Shields said the old policies were naturally “very restrictive” as the sector was testing what was an unproven technology at the time. But that was accepted by other institutions she said, and the LAPD remained “in the times.”
The commissioner pointed to the city of Beverly Hills to help police quickly adapt cutting-edge surveillance technology. Sending drones before officers could help prevent dangerous standoffs and could inform responding officers if the suspect is armed or not.
Commissioner Teresa Sanchez Gordon has turned more skeptical of the issue and said new policies needed to protect the public. She asked if there are clear guidelines for how and when devices will be deployed during mass demonstrations, like those that have been rocking Los Angeles in recent weeks.
“I just want to make sure that records of these activities are not used against individuals who are legally exercising their rights,” she said.
The updated drone policy allows for large-scale protest monitoring for safety reasons, but departmental authorities emphasized that it will not be used to track or monitor protesters who are not engaged in criminal activity.
Equipmenting drones with weapons and combining them with facial recognition software is still off limits, officials said.
Video captured by the drone will be subject to regular audits. The department said it plans to develop a web portal that allows public members to track the drone’s flight path and the date, time and location of its deployment, but does not allow them to watch the videos they record.
Critics are skeptical of the promise of transparency and while pointing to the department’s track record in surveillance technology, they say they are afraid that police will deploy drones disproportionately against communities of color. Several opponents of the program spoke at a meeting on Tuesday.
Device sizes (2.5-5 pounds) vary and can cover two miles of distances in about two minutes, officials said.
While expanding the role of drones has been considered for years, public protests against a string of well-known robberies in the city’s west side have sparked an increase within the sector.
The drone expansion came amid a wider discussion of the effectiveness of the department’s helicopter program.
When adopting new guidelines, the department follows the guidance of smaller, adjacent agencies. In addition to Beverly Hills, Culver City and Chula Vista, they have used drones on patrols for many years, and have more tolerant regulations.
LAPD CMDR. Shannon Paulson said the new policy will make the department more flexible in the deployment of drones. For example, she said under the old policy, drones could normally be sent only to bomb threats by the deputy chief or the deputy chief on the scene.
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