Despite Governor McDonnell’s claim that aerial unmanned drones would be great for the state, the Virginia General Assembly went ahead and decided to place a two year moratorium on their use.
Sadly Virginia is not the only state to nix drones. Florida passed a similar measure recently, and in Seattle, the Mayor intervened to prevent the police department from deploying them.
I honestly don’t get it. In today’s modern society there are cameras practically everywhere. Whether it is the red light cameras on the traffic lights, or the security cameras in buildings, or even the cameras Google has installed throughout the country, cameras are very commonplace in the public square.
When did people start thinking that there was a reasonable expectation of privacy for anyone out in public? When I’m out in public, my expectations are completely different than when I walk into my own home. That’s why it’s called “public.”
Secondly, why are police helicopters ok, but not police drones? Is it because drones can stay in the air longer and don’t cost as much to operate, or that they can fly higher and see farther?
Drones: The Real Solution To Gun Violence
And this leads me to another point. All around the country, people are talking about what measures we can use to roll back the “epidemic” of gun violence. Clearly it seems like this is an important issue to a lot of people, regardless of their underlying political affiliations.
Why then are we holding ourselves back from deploying a technology that could greatly reduce violence on our streets?
Without a doubt, un-nammed aerial vehicles could be the biggest asset to law enforcement agencies since the invention of finger prints.
Think about it for a minute. If the bad-guys believe that they are under surveilance all of the time, then they are going to get off the streets and take their illegal activities indoors.
This would effectively end drug turf wars over street corners, and open air drug markets that are an absolute blight on most major American cities.
Effective drone surveillance could also deter numerous crimes. Again, why take the chance if you know there's an eye in the sky?
I know a lot of people are worried about the emergence of a so called "police state" but the reality is that we have a very good legal system designed to keep the police in check. So long as the courts continue to protect people's rights, then we shouldn't have a problem with drones or any other kind of aerial surveillance technology.
Without a doubt, un-nammed aerial vehicles could be the biggest asset to law enforcement agencies since the invention of finger prints.
Think about it for a minute. If the bad-guys believe that they are under surveilance all of the time, then they are going to get off the streets and take their illegal activities indoors.
This would effectively end drug turf wars over street corners, and open air drug markets that are an absolute blight on most major American cities.
Effective drone surveillance could also deter numerous crimes. Again, why take the chance if you know there's an eye in the sky?
I know a lot of people are worried about the emergence of a so called "police state" but the reality is that we have a very good legal system designed to keep the police in check. So long as the courts continue to protect people's rights, then we shouldn't have a problem with drones or any other kind of aerial surveillance technology.
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