Unmanned Aerial Vehicals (UAV’s), or “drones,” have been deployed along the U.S.-Mexico border. Now the Miami-Dade Police have purchased one to keep tabs on the citizenry.
Having lived in Los Angeles for four years, I was well-acquainted with the near constant presence of helicopters swimming through the air–their searchlights bending, correcting their angles as the choppers hovered in circles over some fleeing criminal. And just as suddenly as they arrived, they departed (presumably after the criminal had been apprehended or escaped).
Most Angelenos simply learn to mute the hum of the helicopters–to erase their flight paths from the conscious mind. And by most Angelenos, I mean those for whom the helicopter is a mere spectacle, not an eye in the sky. Ask a resident of South-Central (or South Los Angeles, as city officials call it) and they will likely have a drastically different conception of what a helicopter means in their life as opposed to the leisurely, trust-fund classes in Beverly Hills, parts of Silver Lake and Echo Park, and along the Pacific Coast. For South-Central residents, the helicopter is a symbol of a near constant presence on the non-criminal and criminal alike.
We are watching, like the lidless eye of Sauron.
UAVs are, in essence, silent, clandestine versions of the helicopter. They’ve gained prominence in the wake of the Blue Brothers development of the Predator Drone, built by General Atomics. The drones have a particularly unimpressive 10-1 civilian-to-insurgent death ratio in Afghanistan and Iraq, but they are quite effective in aerial reconnaissance. If used as such, does this make the drone any different than a piloted police helicopter?
Residents of Miami-Dade think so and are opposed to the introduction of the drone to their skies, believing that it will violate their privacy. The argument is valid. The drone, not as loud or as intrusive as a helicopter, and able to ascend to greater heights for reconnaissance, could potentially be anywhere in the sky, observing anything. The drone purchased by MDPD is Honeywell’s T-hawk, which can reach heights of 10,500 feet, cruise at 46mph and fly for 40 minutes.
It is more likely that it will be deployed over minority neighborhoods to keep watch on criminal activity. But there are honest citizens in these areas. What of their privacy?
Miami-Dade Police Director James Loftus takes issue with these worries, according to WSVN:
“It gives us a good opportunity to have an eye up there. Not a surveilling eye, not a spying eye. Let’s make the distinction. A surveilling eye to help us to do the things we need to do, honestly, to keep people safe.”
A legitimate argument, no doubt, but it will certainly be a shock to see a drone that flies missions against terrorists being deployed in American airspace and against American citizens.
Inevitable? Yes. Should citizens take this up at their city councils as this becomes a trend? Yes. The opposition, however, needs to start in Miami-Dade at a grassroots level.
There has been and always will be criminal activity. Safety cannot always be assured. This is an implicit characteristic of humanity. Indeed, it is written in the very fabric of biological existence.
America is accelerating to that state where liberty is sacrificed for an illusory feeling of security, both at home and abroad. It is time we tune our ears and focus are eyes to the problem–not simply disregard it because of the belief that we are not directly affected.
The drone in Miami-Dade is a drone across the entire landscape of America.
