data protection

Surveillance: New York police want to spy on private parties with drones

The New York City Police Department has announced that it will begin using drones to monitor outdoor celebrations such as cookouts around the Monday Labor Day long weekend and other city celebrations. She wants to prevent such private festivities from getting out of control. If there are complaints about a large crowd or a crowded party in a backyard, they will use the technology available to see if things are right, Deputy Police Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said at a news conference in New York City on Thursday.

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Checking things out – without a patrol car

The unmanned flying objects are to send images to a control unit at the police headquarters in the US metropolis. Officials said the recordings would help the senior guards figure out how many officers would need to be sent to a location. The New York Police Department (NYPD) announced the measure during a security briefing at J’Ouvert, an annual Caribbean celebration of the end of slavery. This traditionally draws thousands of revelers onto the streets of Brooklyn, faced with a heavy police presence.

Daughtry ließ according to the AP news agency, the drones would respond to both emergency calls and regular telephone alerts along the parade route and beyond. “We want everyone to have a bank holiday weekend with as little police action as possible,” stressed patrol chief John Chell. The flying eyes could simply respond to calls faster than a patrol car. This pays off particularly at events with large crowds.

Review: “Sci-Fi inspired scenario”

The project immediately provoked criticism from civil rights activists. They question whether such actions are compatible with existing police surveillance powers. “Using drones in this way is a sci-fi inspired scenario,” warned Daniel Schwarz, privacy and technology strategist at the New York Civil Liberties Union. The initiative contradicts the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology Act (POST), a 2020 New York law that requires the NYPD to disclose its surveillance tactics and limit covert spying on citizens to exceptional circumstances.

In its 2021 UAV policy, the New York City Police Department states that drones without a search warrant would not be used in areas where there is a “reasonable expectation of privacy.” This stipulation should not apply only in urgent circumstances. Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP), expressed concern at the rush to introduce new forms of aerial surveillance. It remains completely open what protective measures would be in place if “these cameras are aimed at our backyards or even our bedrooms”.

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Drones used in law enforcement

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has said police should continue to exploit the “endless” potential of drones. The former police captain was impressed by a visit to Israel and described the use of the technology by security agencies there as a blueprint for US cities. His office referred to new guidelines, which make it easier for private drone operators to fly their aircraft in New York. But it is not about specifications for the NYPD.

Like many other US communities, New York is increasingly relying on drones for law enforcement. According to local statistics, this year police have deployed drones 124 times for public safety or emergency purposes, such as after a parking garage collapse or at a social media party gone haywire, compared to just four in 2022.

Data leakage feared

From a current report of the American Civil Liberty Union (ACLU) reports that approximately 1,400 law enforcement agencies across the United States currently use drones in some form. Under federal regulations, they are generally only permitted to fly within the operator’s line of sight. However, many authorities have requested exceptions. The civil rights organization warns that the use of drones by law enforcement officials threatens to “explode”.

In Germany, federal and state police forces have also already procured such unmanned aerial systems on a large scale. A stumbling block, in addition to general concerns about privacy, is that these are often drones from the Chinese company DJI. Critics complain that a data outflow into the Middle Kingdom cannot always be ruled out.

(tiw)

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2023-09-03 11:05:00
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