Concerns raised over crime-fighting drones

“It’s so easy to invade somebody’s privacy with a drone; drones are no joke.” This is according to a young entrepreneur in St. John’s, speaking with OBSERVER media on Thursday as he gave his opinion on the news that police will now be using drones for crime-fighting. The young entrepreneur opined that the government needs to use the drones in accordance with new laws which might have to be put in place, and warrants ought to be used before anyone is placed under surveillance.
He also stated that it would be difficult to distinguish between civilian drones and law enforcement drones. Pointing to the potential for abuse or misuse of drones, a well-known barber in St. John’s stressed, “Man (police) could use them to coop woman.”
He also said that innocent people could get caught in the middle. “Let’s say I visit a friend’s house, and they fly over, and I didn’t know that he had weed there, me get lock up too,” the barber elaborated. Another concern came from a tradesman who insisted that the police should not focus only on using drones to fight crime. “Overall, I think the police need to be properly trained in how to handle situations,” he said, adding that the police are “too aggressive.”