Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Tuesday 7 November 2017
Drones become crime-fighting tool, but perfection is elusive

By JOHN SEEWER said. "I think every chief in
Associated Press the U.S. wants one of these
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — The things, but it does not re-
armed robbery suspect place a manned aircraft."
hiding out in a camper Drones can't hoist some-
in rural Michigan heard one to safety or transport
state troopers closing in, officers, for example. And
so he dashed into a field with a battery that allows
and crouched among the them to fly for only 15 to 45
6-foot-tall cornstalks. What minutes, they aren't suited
he didn't know was that for long surveillance opera-
police had eyes on him tions.
from above. Another pressing worry is
Drones are fast becoming about privacy.
an essential tool for more About a third of states re-
law enforcement agen- quire police to get a war-
cies, changing how officers rant before using drones
carry out everyday tasks in a criminal investigation.
and bringing air surveil- Others, including Mas-
lance to departments with sachusetts, are weighing
limited budgets. whether to do the same. In
The remote-controlled fly- Los Angeles, police in early
ing machines have been October outlined guide-
deployed to bust up a ring In this Oct. 16, 2017 photo, Streetsboro Officer Scott Hermon pilots the department's first drone in lines limiting when it can fly
stealing bulldozers and Streetsboro, Ohio. drones in attempt to ap-
backhoes from construc- Associated Press pease those who fear of-
tion sites on the East Coast; life; federal regulations re- ficers will be spying on resi-
to patrol beaches for strict how far they can go; dents.
sharks; and to scan neigh- and police face questions The biggest barrier, drone
borhoods for survivors in about how they plan to use pilots say, is a Federal Avia-
hurricane zones. the surveillance technol- tion Administration rule that
But there are obstacles to ogy. prohibits them from losing
overcome before drones The number of police, sher- sight of their drones while
can change policing like iff, fire and emergency flying.
two-way radios did fol- agencies with drones dou- That means no chasing
lowing World War II. The bled in 2016, with nearly 350 a suspect on the run or
limitations aren't just with departments having them searching miles upon miles
their small size and battery as of last year, according — unless they get creative.
Authorities flying a drone
in eastern Virginia's York
County got around the
In this Oct. 16, 2017 photo, the Streetsboro police department's FAA rule by climbing a fire-
first drone flies in Streetsboro, Ohio. truck ladder so they could
Associated Press still see the machine while
searching for suspects who
to a study released this past small departments like ours went deep into woods near
spring by the Center for the to be able to do it; that was a shopping area.
Study of the Drone at Bard the kicker," said Darin Pow- "You've got to think outside
College in New York. ers, police chief in Streets- the box with these things,"
Almost half were in places boro, a city of 16,000 near said Maj. Ron Montgomery,
with fewer than 50,000 peo- Cleveland. of the sheriff's office. "You're
ple, the study found. "For a What shouldn't be com- only limited by your imagi-
lot of small, rural depart- pared are the capabilities nation."
ments, it is a big change," of a drone and a helicop- Figuring out how to keep
said Arthur Holland Michel, ter, said Sgt. Matt Rogers, them in the air longer and
co-director of the center. who started a drone pro- improving safety systems
Drones allow police to do gram in 2014 with the Mich- that will allow drones to fly
things that they never did igan State Police. beyond the operator's view
even with helicopters, from The agency sent up a drone will be one of the next big
working with arson inves- in June during flooding in steps.
tigators to measuring skid central Michigan to figure Jared Hogge, Lockheed
marks at car crashes, signifi- out what areas needed Martin Corp.'s project man-
cantly cutting the time driv- to be evacuated, and ager for Indago, a 5-pound
ers spend waiting for roads the capture of the want- (2-kilogram) drone that
to clear. ed felon in the cornfield a can fit in the back of a pa-
Their greatest appeal for year ago saved troopers trol car, said many of the
authorities, though, is cost. from spending hours blindly ideas for what's next are
A drone with an infrared searching for the suspect coming from officers flying
camera can be had for while not knowing whether the drones.
less than $20,000, while a he had a gun. "We're at the beginning of
police helicopter can cost "It gives the investigators a learning how and when
In this Oct. 16, 2017 photo, Streetsboro Officer Scott Hermon pre-
pares to pilot the department's first drone in Streetsboro, Ohio. well over $1 million. great advantage that they these systems are going to
Associated Press "It's very affordable for even never had before," Rogers be used," he said.q