Kent Police plan to purchase drones to improve investigations

Send up the drones could become a new Kent Police command.

The Kent Police Department plans to purchase two drones this year in order to enhance major traffic collision investigations, outdoor crime scenes and SWAT operations.

But police use of drones also raises Big Brother concerns and the public’s right to privacy.

“Our position is not to say whether the technology is good or bad but rather the intended use and transparency of that use and whether it’s worth the cost, not only in dollars but the chilling impact it can have on civil liberties,” said Shanker Narayan, technology and liberty project director for the Seattle-based American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Washington, in a phone interview.

Narayan said the high-definition cameras on drones can allow for police to use facial recognition technology to identify faces in a crowd, such as at a protest.

“It could allow them to follow activists, and that has a chilling impact about who goes to protests,” he said.

Police Chief Ken Thomas told the City Council’s Public Safety Committee at a Feb. 14 meeting how Kent plans to use the drones.

“It’s for outdoor crime scenes such as a fatality collision or violence,” Thomas said. “It can save several hours of crime scene processing and mapping. And for SWAT teams it can assist with entry into buildings – after obtaining a warrant – as part of emergency operations.”

The two unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) program will cost about $50,400, including the laptops, computer software and pilot training for six investigators. One drone will take video, the other will shoot still photos.

Thomas plans to take the proposal to the council’s Operations Committee at 4 p.m. on March 7 for approval. If approved by the committee, the measure would go to the full seven-member council.

Public debate needed

The ACLU emphasizes the importance to get residents and government leaders involved about the use of drones.

“Any municipality needs to do research and have public debate and discussion about the potential use of the technology – what data they will collect, who they will share it with and what will be deleted,” Narayan said.

It’s also crucial for a council to oversee police use of drones, Narayan said.

“Self-regulation doesn’t work with powerful surveillance technology,” he said. “With a helicopter surveillance is obvious. But with a drone you might not know about it or know who is using it. Police need to be clear on restrictions and how drones can be used.”

Thomas said the police have a draft policy for using drones, including prohibited uses such as random surveillance, harassing any group or targeting a person based on individual characteristics such as race.

There is no state law governing drones. Legislators have introduced several bills over the last couple of years to regulate drones but none has passed.

A couple of more bills are under consideration this session.

State Rep. David Taylor, R-Moxee (Yakima County) proposed House Bill 1102, which would govern the use of drones by public agencies. State Rep. Jeff Morris, D-Mount Vernon proposed House Bill 1049, which recognizes privacy rights.

Without any state regulations, the Seattle City Council adopted a policy in 2013 that restricts drone use by police to when they have a warrant; under certain emergencies; and specific kinds of surveillance in public spaces. Seattle Police, however, dropped its drone program in 2013 after public outcry over the lack of public notification about using drones and potential for abuse.

“It’s important that we strike the right balance between the utility of using drones for many different worthy purposes, such as monitoring forest fires, and the public’s right to privacy,” said Alex Alben, chief privacy officer for the state Office of Privacy and Data Protection, in an email. “This is a challenging area for policymakers, which has led to controversy on the state and national level.”

Renton uses drones

Thomas said a couple of other local police forces use drones or plan to use them.

“It is a relatively newer technology,” he said. “We are not at the cutting edge but it’s still newer. I believe Renton has one or two and Auburn and Federal Way either have them or are in the process like we are to getting them.”

Renton Police began to use two drones last year for similar incidents to how Kent plans to use them. The Renton Police policy allows for taking photographs/video for investigative support of traffic accidents, homicides and other crime scenes, hazmat responses, search and rescue operations, barricaded persons, disaster response and tactical support, according to a story in the Renton Reporter newspaper.

Kent modeled its policy for drone use after Renton and other agencies, Thomas said.

The city of Auburn last year started to allow civilian staff to use drones to inspect hard-to-reach streams, but police do not yet use them, according to a Auburn Reporter article.

Thomas said in a written report to the council’s Public Safety Committee that the drones will improve the quality of crime scene documentation and take three to five hours to process a scene versus six to 10 hours.

He said staff overtime hours would decrease and police would be able to open roads and buildings quicker after closing them for crime investigations.

“During tactical operations, unmanned aerial vehicles offer a way to gain visual observation without exposing officers to gunfire,” Thomas said. “In a search and rescue capacity, the (drones) can be used to scan large areas and provide real time aerial observation to emergency management personnel.”

Six officers would receive pilot training to fly drones from the Federal Aviation Administration at a cost of about $10,000.

The police chief plans to pay for the costs of the drones out of the school zone traffic camera fund that has a balance of $949,722.

Kent has cameras near three elementary schools to catch speeding drivers when students are present. Police issue a $124 fine for a vehicle exceeding the 20 mph school speed limit by 1 to 9 mph and issue a $248 fine for speeds of 10 mph or faster above the speed limit.

Portable cameras coming

In addition to drones, Kent Police plan to spend about $20,000 on portable surveillance equipment, four video cameras on a box that can be mounted in areas of high crime.

“We can move it throughout the city,” Thomas said. “It’s a box with a big blue light on top so we are not hiding it from anybody. But it would have four cameras in four directions. The purpose is to go to the highest crime area and move the cameras there. We will be recording and officers can access (video) through their iPhone or computer to monitor activity to see what’s going on.”

Thomas said the cameras would not be used covertly. He said the video would be useful at large, outdoor gatherings.

“We can move it to community events such as Cornucopia Days to help ensure the safety of the public,” he said. “It’s a pilot program and if it works well, we can expand the program.”

Councilman Jim Berrios told Thomas he likes the idea of portable video cameras.

“If they are effective, they could help us with some hot spots,” Berrios said. “It shows the community we are serious about fighting crime.”