- Stockton has approved a $3.15 investment in Flock drones
- Drones will act as aerial rescuers
- Residents have raised concerns about privacy and surveillance.
Surveillance and privacy are big concerns for people around the world right now, and municipal leaders in the California city of Stockton are the latest to draw criticism for a controversial drone expansion program that is ostensibly being carried out in the interest of public safety.
As Stocktonia reported, the city council recently approved a $3.15 million investment in drones made by Flock, in addition to the automatic license readers the company already supplies. These drones can act as first responders in the air, allowing police to observe a 911 call situation in as little as 30 seconds.
The sales pitch is that officers will be better informed when they arrive and that some incidents could be handled remotely. “It will really enhance what we already have, in the sense that we will get rapid deployments and real-time updates to officers on the scene,” police Lt. David Padula said when the deal was approved.
However, although all city leaders liked the drone program, there has been massive public opposition against it. Residents have raised issues related to privacy, immigration enforcement and mass surveillance, not only in regards to how drones are used, but also how the data they collect is stored and shared.
These drones are not widely used in the US, but there are active programs in some cities in states such as Texas, Indiana, and Connecticut. License plate readers are much more widespread: more than 100,000 are currently in use.
Data collection and privacy
“It sends the wrong message,” local advocacy group The Stockton Community Check-In Booth said in a statement after the council’s decision. “As our residents continue to struggle under the financial impacts of this administration and economy, Stockton continues to invest in militarization and policing.”
“Private organizations can monitor your data from those Flock cameras, and because they’re privately owned, you can’t even use freedom of information to find out what they have on you,” Stockton Republican congressional candidate John McBride said, calling the use of drones “a total invasion of privacy.”
According to Flock, local agencies remain in control of the data. It claims it does not work with ICE and that federal agencies cannot discover or request data held by Stockton. Drone flights are logged on a public dashboard and Stockton Police will own 100% of the data they collect.
However, Flock has had problems elsewhere: It was previously found to be sharing access with US Customs and Border Protection in Colorado and Illinois, although it says these practices have since stopped. In Texas, police used a network of Flock cameras to track the movements of a woman who underwent an abortion.
In other areas, authorities have not been as welcoming to Flock and its systems. In Mountain View, California, a network of Flock cameras was recently taken down over concerns about unauthorized access.
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