The drone hysteria can be broken down into three types:the fear of the violation of privacy; the fear of weaponization of drones; and the fear of what could happen if a “drone strike” ,drone hitting a commercial jet engine, really did happen. All of these fears are well founded and have a level of concern that is pressing.
Privacy is a rare commodity in today’s world. The media seems to be everywhere and the government has cameras everywhere. Drones offer a way to gather information like never before. They are small and relatively quiet. They can hover hundreds of feet in the air and maintain a high resolution image. They are like satellites only more maneuverable and cost effective. It is a logical choice that police departments want drones …show more content…
One hot button issue is the Bureau of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) a subset of the Department of Homeland Security. The CBP currently operates the largest fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles. They have 10 drones including the Predator B and its maritime variant the Guardian both styles at $18 million each. The CBP plans to operate 24 drones with the ability to deploy to anywhere in the United States within three hours. The CBP’s drones have the latest in surveillance technology: infrared cameras, motion sensors, heat sensors, high resolution cameras, night vision cameras, listening devices, automated license-plate readers, GPS tracking, TSA see-through cameras, and facial recognition software that is connected to the national data base. This large protector of the United States is not without many problems besides the fear its drone fleet causes. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General made these comments on the CBP, “[The CBP] needs to improve planning of its unmanned aircraft system programs to address its level of operation, program funding, and resource requirements, along with stake holder’s needs.” The DHS Inspector General suspended the CBP purchasing of new drones until the Bureau’s plan address the
Privacy is a rare commodity in today’s world. The media seems to be everywhere and the government has cameras everywhere. Drones offer a way to gather information like never before. They are small and relatively quiet. They can hover hundreds of feet in the air and maintain a high resolution image. They are like satellites only more maneuverable and cost effective. It is a logical choice that police departments want drones …show more content…
One hot button issue is the Bureau of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) a subset of the Department of Homeland Security. The CBP currently operates the largest fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles. They have 10 drones including the Predator B and its maritime variant the Guardian both styles at $18 million each. The CBP plans to operate 24 drones with the ability to deploy to anywhere in the United States within three hours. The CBP’s drones have the latest in surveillance technology: infrared cameras, motion sensors, heat sensors, high resolution cameras, night vision cameras, listening devices, automated license-plate readers, GPS tracking, TSA see-through cameras, and facial recognition software that is connected to the national data base. This large protector of the United States is not without many problems besides the fear its drone fleet causes. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General made these comments on the CBP, “[The CBP] needs to improve planning of its unmanned aircraft system programs to address its level of operation, program funding, and resource requirements, along with stake holder’s needs.” The DHS Inspector General suspended the CBP purchasing of new drones until the Bureau’s plan address the