by Nicholas West, Activist Post:
The rapid proliferation of police drones and robots shouldn’t come as a surprise for longtime readers, but legislators are now reaching for the next level by removing many of the previous restrictions on when and how they can be used.
It can’t get more obvious about where we are heading than the recent major amendement to police drone use in Illinois: the previous “Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act” is now being called “The Drones As First Responders Act.”
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As the article from Patch.com explains below, a mass shooting is what spurred the major overhaul to police policy. For privacy advocates, this serves as a perfect example of why resistance to intrusive police tech must be ongoing, consistent and unwavering. In both Los Angeles and New York, we have seen similiar reversals regarding their use of robodog robots for a widening variety of applications.
Worse still, Illinois has indicated that in addition to expanding their drone coverage to include “special events,” they also will loosen restrictions on the use of facial recognition if there is “a high risk of a terrorist attack.”
For now, the legislation prohibits drone use at “political protests, marches, demonstrations or other First Amendment-protected assemblies.” However, we shouldn’t expect this to be a firm line in the sand, as the line has been moving incrementally and steadily away from freedom for many decades. The fact that this latest inititative in Illinois received overwhelming bipartisan support should tell us everything we need to know.
Illinois Lawmakers Loosen Restrictions On Police Use Of Drones
HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Lawmakers sent a series of changes to state law regulating the use of drones by Illinois police departments to the governor’s desk this week.
State Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Lake Forest), was a chief-cosponsor of House Bill 3902, which passed the Senate 56-1 on Wednesday, with the House concurring Thursday in a 84-7 vote.
Dubbed the Drones As First Responders Act, the amendments to the Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act were drawn up in response to last year’s mass shooting in Highland Park. Morrison and her family, who had been riding in the parade, ran for their lives when the gunfire began.
“That is legislation that I’ve been working on for many many months since the 4th of July parade tragedy in Highland Park. It’s a bill that allows law enforcement to use drones at large public gatherings,” said Morrison.
“It’s a tool that we absolutely need, and I’m so pleased to announce that this bill passed with significant support and bipartisan support,” she said after the bill’s House and Senate passage. “That tells me that people all over the state are feeling the same pressures and uncertainties of being out in public in large crowds.”
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said city officials appreciate the work of Morrison and the bill’s chief sponsor, Sen. Linda Holmes (D-Aurora).
