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The Metro: Drones are coming to a police department near you. Is the privacy tradeoff worth it?
The cities of Dearborn and Warren, MI have launched Drone-as-a-First-Responder programs. In Dearborn, a drone can now reach a 911 call in about two and a half minutes, often before a patrol car leaves the station.
Police and fire departments in Warren are sharing a fleet of these drones to scout house fires, crime scenes, and missing-person searches before officers arrive on the ground.
It’s fast and efficient. Police chiefs call it a game-changer. But more surveillance and more data come with increased risks and erode privacy and anonymity in public spaces.
Are the tradeoffs worth it? Drone researcher and author Arthur Holland Michel joined The Metro to discuss.
Arthur Holland Michel is a surveillance technology writer and researcher. He founded the Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College and wrote the book “Eyes In the Sky: The Secret Rise of Gorgon Stare and How it Will Watch Us All.”
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