The New Orleans Police Department wants to expand its drone program, to use the flying video cameras as first responders to some 911 calls. But that has privacy advocates concerned.
Drones are already in use by the NOPD in limited circumstances, but they are looking to expand it to something like the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office "drones as first responders" setup, where the quad-rotor flyers are deployed in response to 911 calls. JPSO has touted the machine's usefulness in pursuing fleeing suspects.
(For best viewing, select fullscreen)
Loyola Law professor Dane Ciolino says constitutionally, that sort of use is considered acceptable.
"As a matter of constitutional criminal procedure, there's virtually no expectation of privacy from being observed by a drone over a public space," Ciolino said, as opposed to using drones to peek through someone's windows.
"They're usually using these drones from hundreds of feet up in the air to track suspects on the run, follow cars, those sorts of things," said Ciolino. "And police officers historically have done that for years using helicopters, although helicopters are considerably more expensive and more dangerous to operate for those sorts of purposes."
NOLA.com reports NOPD is seeking $740,000 from the French Quarter management district to buy more drones, plus docking stations, to begin a remote-operated drone network similar to what is in use in Jefferson Parish.
