Police in Minnesota are buying and flying more drones than ever before, according to an annual report recently released by the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). Minnesotan law enforcement flew their drones without a warrant 4,326 times in 2023, racking up a state-wide expense of over $...
This article seems to be trying to make the use of drones seem ominous but that’s really simplistic. A drone is a tool. They talk about flying drones over large gatherings but before drones they’d just have a dude with a camera go up a tall building.
When there’s large gatherings it can be helpful to spot crowd surges or crushes to be able to see things.
Of course these things are open to abuse, but how many cases of abuse have we seen with basic police on foot?
It’s not the technology we should be worrying about but the officers who are abusive.