Slashdot Mirror
Domestic Surveillance Drones On the Rise
Toe, The writes "Predator drones have now racked up over 10,000 hours of airtime in the U.S., largely for immigration enforcement. Homeland Security reports that drone operations lead to the apprehension of 4,865 undocumented immigrants and 238 drug smugglers in the past six years. Compare that to 327,577 illegal migrants caught at the southwest border in fiscal 2011. The only limits on their surveillance are FAA regulations keeping them away from crowded urban areas, and this is for safety reasons, not privacy. While the drones cannot see through windows, they certainly see a lot of what goes on in the (former) privacy of peoples' yards. The article cites Michael Kostelnik from the Office of Air and Marine for the Border Protection service saying he's never been challenged in Congress about the appropriate use of domestic drones. 'Instead the question is: Why can't we have more of them in my district?'"
Every time I see one of these domestic drone stories, I'm reminded of that scene in Blue Thunder where Roy Scheider, having seen a demonstration of the deadly helicopter, says something along the lines of "You don't expect to use that thing for law enforcement, do you?" to his government minder. The guy just looks creepily at him and replies "Well, that would depend on the CIRCUMSTANCES, wouldn't it?"
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
I'm worried with all this effective border patrolling it suddenly makes more sense to have domestic drug production. And as a result all that violence assoicated with the drug trade that Mexico is experiencing springs up here.
Maybe we deserve it more than they do. It's our demand after all.
The past tense of the verb "to lead" is led. "...drone operations lead to the apprehension of 4,865 undocumented immigrants and 238 drug smugglers in the past six years."
Yes, language evolves and someday "lead" may be acceptable usage. In the meantime, it's a mistake. Correct yourself. Thanks for your cooperation.
All you have to do is blitz the raido waves with garbage, wait for it to go into "home" mode, spoof the GPS signal, and you got yourself a hot sell on ebay.
"When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
The Mexico/US border doesn't move a lot. I don't understand why UAV surveillance of it is increasing, while the Boeing system of fixed cameras failed after a $1e9 investment. It seems like fixed cameras would be much cheaper than keeping planes in the air, and would create fewer privacy concerns.
I've captured 3 of them this week!
Hello, Ahmed, what's the going rate on these babies?
Based on the lack of security of these things, I can't wait until amateur hackers start crashing these things or taking them over.
Not so long ago, this type of spying on U.S. residents was seemingly so out of the question. I never heard anything about this when growing up (and I'm not all that old). It says something about our country that this is how we're using our technological advancement -- especially when it's not just spying on potential drug dealers or illegal immigrants, but also spying on average citizens behaving themselves. One could (and probably will) argue "what's the problem if you're not doing something wrong?" The problem is this: not everyone wants to be watched, no matter what they're doing. Privacy is something that every human being innately desires and this is encroaching upon that basic need. Also, one could also argue: why should perfectly well-behaved citizens be spied upon when they're not doing anything wrong? The problem here, innately, is this isn't like the cops on the highway sitting in the corners by trees just eagerly waiting for someone to go by at 100mph because in that case not everyone is actually being watched. When the radar beeps, the cop knows who to pay attention to and nothing is really recorded (except for perhaps the camera on the dash recording you after you're pulled over). Whereas with spying, information is recorded about everyone and not just those breaking laws. There needs to be something in place to either anonymize or delete data that's not relevant to court cases.
The bottom line: years ago, this type of behavior seemed out of the question and now the U.S. has become just as bad as the countries we badmouth every day. There's something really disturbing about the direction we're heading in.
They announced the SC National Guard is going to start practicing with UAVs. The National Guard unit is one specifically tasked to civil disorder operations and "homeland security"......
http://www.thestate.com/2011/12/21/2087491/sc-guard-unit-to-fly-small-uav.html
"The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
any source that measures the rate in fiscal years at which immigrants are incarcerated
and any source that implies floundering white flight suburbia has somehow become inoculated against any need for drone surveillance in the 21st century, yet dense urban areas are teeming shit-holes that must be policed and patrolled up to the minute.
I live in downtown Los Angeles. our "drones" are piloted police helicopters affectionately referred to as "the birds" which have canvassed the city for nearly 40 years. They started downtown when white-flight basically mandated them to prevent the scourges of economic collapse and urban decay from ever encroaching upon bob and his trophy wife in the burbs. soon they began patrolling hollywood, and santa monica, and pretty soon the ubiquitous helicopter-with-searchlight was patrolling the skies of every street in LA from sepulveda to sierra madre villa. its simple. if you dont like drones, dont accept them. address problems like crime, unemployment, and social inequality and for god sake recognize the fact that every meal you've eaten at a restaurant in the past year has at some point been prepared on some level by an "illegal."
or dont do anything about the problem. blame victims, move away from trouble neighbourhoods and avert your eyes. vote the party line and soon enough, you'll enjoy all the wonders police state surveillance at cost to you.
Good people go to bed earlier.
I mean, seriously US - what the hell is wrong with you lot?
(And if any of you think I'm trolling - drink less cool aid)
Oh, wait. They already have. Shadowhawk UAVs are being deployed with taser shotguns.
Operation Guillotine is in effect.
Predator drones cost $3,234/hour to operate, according to Customs and Border Protection. TFA pegs the up-front cost of the drones as $20 million each (and CBP has eight of them and is buying one more). That means in total they've spent more than $200 million on this little boondoggle.
Even assuming that every single one of those arrests wouldn't have been made at all without the drone, that's over $41,000 per arrest in surveillance costs alone.
It doesn't sound like CBP is producing a great ROI.
Porquoi?
we as citizens of the united states of american cannot allow our government to use UAVs against us in any form or function. it is absolutely unacceptable and must stop.
Didn't ANYBODY but me notice this? That the drones are apparently hangared -- and more importantly flown from -- a naval base?
The military has absolutely no place being involved in any kind of domestic surveillance at all. This is by far the MOST worrisome aspect of the whole thing! Yet nobody else yet has even mentioned it.
Slashdot, what has happened to you?
Sorry -- posse comitatus doesn't apply to the coast guard. And you get exactly one guess as to what service that "navy" hanger belongs to. Protip: It isn't the navy.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
But they've got guns which are magical things that allow a single person to hold off heavily armed gangs and/or the best equipped army in the world.
Neraly 18 years behind schedule. Fucking military contractors.
tl;dr lol
Do it invisibly with off the shelf gear, and keep doing it. It will become like cleaning out the hornets nest from the BBQ or mowing the lawns.
My fleet of drones is watching all of you, so stop that right now!