LAW ENFORCEMENT, DRONES AND FOURTH AMENDMENT CONCERNS

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LAW ENFORCEMENT, DRONES AND FOURTH AMENDMENT
CONCERNS
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• Advances in technology are happening every day,
  and while these are often extremely useful for
  public services such as law enforcement, they
  also come with a series of sometimes complex,
  legal issues. Many of these issues have since
  raised the question as to whether existing rules
  of law need to be changed or updated to remain
  relevant. Where unmanned aerial vehicles are
  concerned otherwise known as drones never has
  this question been more pertinent.
• With their affordability and sophisticated
  technology, drones have become popular tools for
  law enforcement officers to help them catch
  criminals, monitor criminal behavior and assist
  in emergencies, but while they can be incredibly
  useful, their use does come with Fourth Amendment
  concerns, particularly when it comes to private
  residences and property.

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• What are the concerns surrounding law
  enforcements use of drones and The Fourth
  Amendment?
• Protecting U.S. residents from unreasonable
  searches and seizures being carried out by the
  government, The Fourth Amendment to the US
  Constitution is oft referred to in cases seen by
  the U.S. Supreme Court, and over the years it has
  used two specific tests to determine whether a
  search can be deemed reasonable under its
  proviso. The first involves a 1928 case involving
  trespass or physical intrusion, while the second
  originates from a case in 1967.

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• Should warrants be obtained for the use of drones
  by law enforcement officers?
• Different in many ways to helicopters and planes,
  there is reasonable cause to suggest that city
  officials obtain a warrant before using a drone
  to fly over and film, private properties. While
  drones are used by members of the public, flying
  them over residential areas that are private, is
  usually not permitted by existing FAA rules,
  unless under very limited circumstances. Also,
  when a pilot or other person is viewing footage
  or pictures obtained by a drone, theyre not
  seeing it firsthand with their own eyes, and the
  images are open to manipulation in a variety of
  ways, such as by zooming in more closely.

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• There are also concerns over the height at which
  a drone must fly for it to be used in a legal
  search that is compliant with The Fourth
  Amendment. While the FAA permits them to be flown
  lower than other aircrafts, its still not clear
  how low this can be when it comes to flying over
  private residences without violating their right
  to privacy.
• One other final concern over the use of drones by
  law enforcement, is that they are notorious for
  veering off course and potentially crash landing
  onto private property, which could result in a
  search under the guidance of the original
  trespass test.

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• While little has been set in stone legally over
  the use of drones by law enforcement when it
  comes to searches and seizures, its widely
  accepted that a warrant would need to be obtained
  by city officials should they wish to use drones
  for official police business.
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