The number of police agencies across the country interested in using drone technology is growing fast. But, there has been no public debate about how far this technology will allow police powers to reach before it starts to impeded on our rights as citizens. Will Metro ever use drones to arrest citizens? It's already happened on US soil.
History tells us that political power and the police power (and the technologies that they use) will ALWAYS be abused, and ALWAYS to the maximum amount possible. Drones are just another a big step down the road to a police state wherein citizens serve the government instead of the government serving citizens. Remember, as Ben Franklin famously and wisely stated, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
There are many unconstitutional things that would make supposedly legitimate policing easier, for instance eliminating search warrants issued on probable cause by judges. Whoops, under the (unconstitutional) Patriot Act government agents already can essentially write their own warrants at will, and are not even required to inform their victims. This power has been massively abused for years. Now we want government agents to spy on us with drones? Drones that can be militarized? (Even the small ones mentioned can, according to news stories, be mounted with tasers, guns and grenades). Allowing even limited drone use is a VERY bad idea for a free society.Tim Hunt –Jan 3, 2012 10:32:02 AM
