The Milwaukee Sheriff's Department uses drones, and there is a push for expanded use of this technology within the city of Milwaukee.
Police departments and law enforcement agencies are increasingly collecting our personal information with remote-controlled, and sometimes autonomous, Robots and Drones (also called unmanned aerial vehicles). While these devices, especially patrol robots, might look like a fun photo op, they often are equipped with myriad spying technologies, including high definition, live-feed video cameras, thermal infrared video cameras, heat sensors, devices that register wifi pings for cellular devices, and automated license plate readers. This enables sophisticated and persistent surveillance. They can also be equipped with cell-phone interception technology. Captured data can later be scrutinized with backend software tools like license plate readers and face recognition technology. There even have been proposals for law enforcement to attach lethal and less-lethal weapons to drones and robots.
Read more:
- The Milwaukee Sheriff’s new drone unit
- Could drones make Milwaukee safer? Other cities are using the technology
- Milwaukee can be safer with drones, gun buybacks and youth gun safety training
- Drone log sheds light on Milwaukee Sheriff’s eyes in the sky
This technology is only one reason why we need a Community Control Over Police Surveillance (CCOPS) ordinance. CCOPS would require oversight and community input in invasive surveillance technologies, allowing the Wisconsinites being surveilled to make informed decisions about their privacy.
Milwaukee deserves to know how the police are surveilling us. Milwaukee needs CCOPS.
