Share Police Spy Drones Break Law; Freedom Prevails For Now
Feb 16th, 2010 | By Keelan Balderson | Category: Big Brother and Police State, Breaking News |
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An alarming spy drone that only took to the air at the beginning of the year has crash landed back in to reality as police finally realize that they were breaking the law to uphold it.
The £40,000 remote control flying drones, which have heat seeking technology are breaking legislation that permits the flying of unmanned aircraft in inhabited areas without the proper licensing.
A spokesman for Merseyside Police told the Daily Mail: “The force has written to the CAA requesting they visit the force and inspect our UAV and its working procedures with a view of securing the license at the earliest opportunity.”
So it seems the main problem isn’t the invasion of privacy and science-fiction parallels, but the wrong EU paperwork.
It’s unsure what the biggest threat towards the public is. The fact that police know very little of the many laws and legislation they’re supposed to uphold, or that they will willingly fly robots to spy on the public and catch suspected criminals.
The Air Robot was deployed in January after officers lost a suspect in thick fog.
Using an on-board camera and thermal-imaging technology, the operator was able to direct officers to a 16-year-old hiding in bushes alongside the Leeds-Liverpool canal.
The drone, which measures 3ft between the tips of its four carbon fibre rotor blades, uses unmanned aerial vehicle technology originally designed for military reconnaissance.
Merseyside Police is one of three forces trying out the £40,000 devices which are far cheaper to use than a conventional helicopter.
In August Derbyshire police used a similar drone to monitor protests at a BNP festival in Condor.
George Orwell we loves ya!
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