ST. LOUIS, MO - During a press conference, St Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Tracy announced the policies that will govern the department's drones as a first responder program. The Board of Police Commissioners meets on Wednesday, November 4, and if approved, the drones could start flying out to calls as early as Friday, November 6.
"When someone calls 911, better information can help us deliver the right response,” Chief Tracy said Monday. “A drone may arrive before officers and provide a view to the Real-Time Crime Center of what’s happening. That can help us locate someone who needs help, identify a threat, and determine what resources are needed. Saving lives will guide our priorities."
The drones will be operated from the crime center at police headquarters and will fly from docking stations to the scene of an incident using GPS guidance, stlpr reported.
The department will eventually roll out a portal that will enable people to track the drones' flight paths. According to the policy, the drones cannot be armed, and they will not be used for routine surveillance. They also cannot be equipped with facial recognition software without the adoption of a new policy.
The department first approved the drones as a first responder program in May. Officials spent the last six months reviewing policies from other cities and getting input from neighborhood groups.
Jay Stanley, a privacy expert with the American Civil Liberties Union, said he was pleased the department had explicitly ruled out routine surveillance in the policy, but that there are still unanswered questions around matters such as data retention and how the recordings will be used.
"They shouldn't be taking all this video that they've collected, which is completely doable with today's technology, and running it through face recognition, using AI analysis to search for various people,” he said.
He is also concerned about the use of drones to monitor protests. The policy outlaws using drones to interfere with "lawful First Amendment activity," but says they can be used to observe a rally or demonstration so long as the use is "tied to legitimate public-safety purpose and conducted in accordance with law and department policy."
"People outside exercising their First Amendment right to self-expression and to assembly can be a very sensitive thing,” Stanley said. “It’s one of the sacred things about a democracy. But we have not seen law enforcement exercise the restraint that I think is in order around that kind of surveillance."
Mayor Cara Spencer, who has frequently criticized the board and the department for lack of transparency on important matters, said in a statement that she received the policies at the same time on Monday as the media. "I will be reviewing the draft and look forward to analyzing the details in advance of Wednesday's meeting,” she said.
The department secured funding from the St. Louis Police Foundation to purchase the six drones and a radar system that lets officials see all drones in the sky to avoid conflicts. Four are ready to fly as soon as the policies are approved.
Officials said they hope the foundation will continue its support of the program int he future. The department may also use its share of $300 million in federal funding to purchase additional drones or docking stations.
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