The Antelope Valley Times

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LASD seeking public input on drone

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LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is seeking public input through July 13 on its unmanned aircraft system.

Residents are encouraged to visit the link below to participate in a four-question survey about the drone.

https://freeonlinesurveys.com/s/Z6nVDrT7

The unmanned aircraft system — a remote controlled unit with an on-board video camera — is assigned to the Special Enforcement Bureau, which comprises the Emergency Services, Special Enforcement, Arson/Explosives and HazMat details.

Sheriff Jim McDonnell announced the acquisition of the drone in January, saying the Federal Aviation Administration had also approved its use in hazardous materials incidents, disaster response, arson fires and with barricaded, armed suspects.

While the FAA lays out rules for the use of drones that limit their use near airports, for example, it does not regulate information gathering by drones.

“The dangers of law enforcement can never be eliminated. However, this technology can assist us in reducing the impact of risks on personnel and allow us to perform operations to enhance public safety,” McDonnell said at a news conference in January unveiling the unmanned aircraft system.

The drone can gather otherwise inaccessible information and give deputies the ability to make better choices, the sheriff said.

Previous related stories:

Inspector general, civilian commission to review sheriff’s plan for drone

Activists ask county supervisors to ban use of drone by Sheriff’s Department

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Filed Under: Crime/ Safety

30 comments for "LASD seeking public input on drone"

  1. … public enemy #1 for police surveillance drones: trees. The more you detest, loathe, and despise police surveillance drones, the more you’ll learn to love beautiful broad-leaf, deciduous shade trees –

  2. … best way to knock down a police drone: wrist rocket firing ice pellets, leaves no evidence; can’t be traced. Best thing about it, you water your neighbors lawn, a little

  3. … you can’t fix stupid. If you’re stupid enough to militarize your community police, and equip them with surveillance equipment sufficient to erase what’s left of your basic constitutional guarantees? Then, the place you deserve to be is, right in the middle of the sanctuary city, of beautiful Mexifornia, with stupid people, just like you. For me, I’d table the motion for Kit Carson County’s 500 foot ordinance: any American who owns property has the right, to shoot down anything flying under 500′, over over their property.

  5. … notice anything peculiar about your friendly local police department, lately? Perhaps you may not have noticed, how squad cars are now beefed-up, into NASCAR-like battering rams? Perhaps you never stopped to take notice, how the personality profile of your garden variety peace officer so abruptly changed, from the civic, endearing “aw-shucks” Andy-of-Mayberry, Barney Fife archetype of yore, to the awkward, anti-social, low-empathy military cut-out, amped-up on caffeine, steroids, amphetamine, ADHD and performance enhancements, with the deep-seeded anger management issues and a the hair trigger, aching to bait you into high speed pursuit? Perhaps you haven’t noticed how, in addition to standard issue police batons, handguns and shotguns, police are now equipped with chemical weapons, electro-shock weapons and — stowed in the trunk of every patrol car — a cashe of fully automatic rapid-fire assault rifles with ammunition sufficient to sanitize a residential subdivision of men, women and children, faster than they can cite you for a traffic infraction? Perhaps you didn’t notice, how police cars are now equipped with license plate scanners, for which to troll shopping centers and residential enclaves, keeping tabs on your comings and goings? Perhaps you didn’t notice, all police cars are now equipped with SATCOM (e.g., satellite communications), and laptop computers with real time links tethered to Equifax, TransUnion, Experian, Clatiry data and Choicepoint, DHS Fusion Center analysts, FBI, NSA, Secret Service and the CIA? If that’s not enough, now at each police officer’s disposal, at the push of a button, he call in attack dogs, a SWAT team, surveillance helicopters… and, now, at their personal whim, they can retask drones? Case you haven’t noticed, the war corporations have effectively militarized every aspect, of every local police department, here in America –

    • And now the dumb dumb lancaster “badge lickers” are gonna have access to this technology. I’ve had a first hand experience with their ignorance and stupidity that I feel compelled to exercise my freedom of speech.

  7. Bad bad bad. Just one more of our governments ploys to control everything and everyone. And its all wrapped up in a pretty little package of lies on how it will benefit us all. WAKE THE [removed] UP PEOPLE

  8. I SEE NO REASON WHY NOT. IF YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG THEN DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT. IT MAY HELP IT SURE CAN’T HURT IN MY OPINION.

    • Hmm. Can’t REPLY or comment on the Readers Speak Out section. ‘Reply is missing again.

      Anyway, The outlaw Jersey Whale was caught sunning his fat self on a New Jersey beach closed to everyone else (y’know, the taxpayers) because of a government budget fiasco. And, Moby Richard hisself thinks it’s OK.

      I guess he is taking his clues from trump on how to be a complete anal orifice and PROUD OF IT.

      And, then there are those supporters of such con artists who are even more deplorable. Hence, the name DEPLORABLES. A match made in in a dumpster.

    • Sounds like the pO0on patrol figured out a new excuse to perv in our back yards. I’ll bet they are gonna create federal laws that prohibit people from pointing Lazer pointers at their new TOYS.

    • If you’re taking a shower, laying around the house, basically living a legal life. Why should we be subject to a drone flying by while laying out in the pool, BBQ and daily life? If disbatched only for hazardous waste, crime, fires as advertised. Why is it already visible often for everyday activities to be viewed at unpresisidented levels? This needs to be used as presented and which it’s not. It’s basically up in the sky and already live. I would like a transcript when the drone isn’t dispatched I mean what info is gathered and where is it sent and stored? Public drone presence is different from private. Where our rights in general as citizens with advances in technology and American privacy we enjoy?!

  9. We are recorded everywhere we go today. It’s expected and nothing new. What is alarming is the idea of being recorded in your own residence (windows, in your back yard, etc.) where you expect privacy unless of course there is a warrant for surveillance. We already have the “Eye in the Sky” and I have the same concerns wth this as well.

    According to this article the FAA “does not regulate information gathering by drones.” This is problematic. Who will regulate this information? These drones have the capability of capturing high definition images of us all. This is a potential violation of privacy if we are under surveillance in our own homes. I have seen this drone for several months now in the sky and it’s alarming when you realize this.

    The article also mentions, “Federal Aviation Administration had also approved its use in hazardous materials incidents, disaster response, arson fires and with barricaded, armed suspects.” So just how exactly will this be used? This would suggest the drone is dispatched for these specific situations.

    How do we know how this will be used and how much Lancaster residents will be captured by this drone? I personally enjoy my privacy and am concerned when I see a drone in the sky in a fixed location for months.

    • The Eye in the Sky is a total waste of taxpayer money. We already pay for the Sheriff’s helicopter when needed. A drone would be significantly less than the $10 million we are wasting on the Eye in the Sky. Isn’t it interesting that the company that owns the Eye in the Sky is one of Rex’s political contributors? Nothing to see here, folks. Just move along…………

      • I would expect at 90,000 a month for it we would have the safest city in the world. Imagine if this money was spent on community programs to enrich the youth, sports, arts, college prep, homeless. The drone light was present more at night in the sky facing north east in Lancaster by the Train station in the sky. It’s more visible now during the early morning around 4-5am until the sun comes up

        • Eyes A wide Open, the only thing Lancaster has lower these days is lower credit radius, lower status thanks to the bizarre exploits of our mayor, lower property values especially on the Eastside, and lower new business growth. Yes, for 90k a month you would expect crime to be lowest around. It’s not. But it sure makes Frank’s Westview Estate’s house payments easier to make.

    • Don’t do that. We have to be aware of our rights and nonviolence is important. You would go to jail or possibly lose your life. Not worth it. Look into your rights and you’ll see there’s other ways to fight like advocating for the right to privacy.

  11. … the comment section of this article is bound to be the most heavily censured, in the history of the information superhighway –

  12. Nothing in its checkered postwar posterity suggests the LASD bureaucracy could ever raise its chin high enough to achieve rectitude, trustworthiness or competence sufficient for its recent militarization, let alone toolsets for residential HUMINT surveillance. We won’t need a think tank to forecast, with statistical certainty, impending abuse won’t be insignificant. Handing out drones to LASD thugs, would be characteristic of tossing keys to your ZR1 Corvette, to a high school dropout. Itchy trigger fingers, run amok mindlessly scooping up traffic ticket revenue, they can’t even manage that without going berserk, gunning down helpless, unarmed motorists –

  13. I think the pros outweigh the privacy concerns involved, but I think it’s also a little dishonest to emblazon “RESCUE” on the side of a device that’s used as often to chase down suspects as it is used for rescue.

  14. Your all ready using them. Who cares use them it does nothing because it appears everything a misdemeanor anyway. Make all crimes a felony again and maybe it would be money well spent. I say give you people raises. How are the new belt buckles that cost a million? Do they have special powers? Give out raises.