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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Feds Have No Idea Who's Flying Drones
It bears repeating: The federal government has only a vague sense of which government entities are flying unmanned aerial vehicles, particularly at the state and municipal levels. Lax oversight and lack of coordination between departments are precisely what landed police in Brunswick, Georgia, the Justice Department money to buy its drone without any of the pesky oversight or requisite approvals.
As of last year, the city of Brunswick had 15,640 residents and four annual homicides to its name. Located on the Georgia coast about 30 miles north of Florida, the self-styled Shrimp Capital of the World has fewer than 100 sworn officers on its police payroll. And since 2011, documents reveal, the Brunswick Police Department has had a drone on hand for hostage negotiations, funded by a grant from the federal Justice Department.
This will be news to both the Federal Aviation Administration, which approves the deployment of drones by all government entities nationwide, as well as to the Justice Department itself. The purchase underscores a curious blindspot in the domestic dronescape: The DOJ has the funds to buy and fly drones, only those privileges, or seemingly any record of them, don't appear to be crossing with the FAA.
In a September 2013 report (pdf), the Justice Department (DOJ) Inspector General chided DOJ grantmaking offices for handing out cash to state and local law enforcement agencies without so much as noting which were buying drones with the money. The Inspector Generals review found three known instances from 2001 to 2013 when DOJ funds were granted to buy drone equipment: police in Miami, North Little Rock and Gadsen, Alabama, all purchased their unmanned aerial vehicles using Justice Department grants during that time.
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http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-feds-have-no-idea-whos-flying-drones
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)How big are the drones that have been purchased?
PeoViejo
(2,178 posts)There are some the size of toys that an individual can afford, so it may be not such a big deal.
A Predator, or one that could carry weapons, now, that's another matter.