[TheList] Miami-Dade Police Buy Drones

Thu Jan 6 16:08:10 AEDT 2011

Miami-Dade Police Buy Drones
Source Miami New Times:
http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2010-12-09/news/miami-dade-police-buy-drones/

Quote:
"In places such as Kabul, Gaza, and Baghdad, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
hovering over homes, following suspects, and tracking enemies of the state
are a daily reality.

So where are the high-tech drones buzzing to next? Miami-Dade County, natch!

The Miami-Dade Police Department is poised to become the first large metro
force using drones in its aerial missions. The department finalized a deal
to buy a drone called T-Hawk from defense firm Honeywell and officially
applied for permission from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last
month to begin flying it around the county.

What's not clear is how cops will sort out the raft of thorny privacy
questions hovering around plans for using this powerful, new eye in the sky.

"At this point, it doesn't really matter if you're against this technology,
because it's coming," says P. W. Singer, author of Wired for War and an
expert on drones. "The precedent that is set in Miami could be huge."

Drones, or UAVs, have exploded in popularity over the past five years. As
Singer writes in his book, the military barely used the technology during
the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Now the Army and Air Force have more than
7,000 drones overseas, and 44 other countries use the devices."

Next step will be attaching hellfire missiles to the drones, eliminating the
need for the police to engage in mindless, reckless & deadly CHASES. One
simple press of a button via remote satellite control, will see suspect
vehicle in question [ not to mention countless innocent bystanders ]
"neutralised" in an instant. I'm sure Judith will be watching developments
with an eager eye =)