What are the privacy implications of SBPD's 'Drone as First Responder' program?
SOUTH BEND, Ind.--- The South Bend Police Department (SBPD) announced the rollout of its "Drone as First Responder" (DFR) program Wednesday, meaning a drone will now be deployed during police calls to get eyes on a scene faster than an officer can arrive.
ABC57 asked SBPD leaders about the privacy implications of using drones as a policing tool.
"If cops had propellers on them, it would be no different," said Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski.
He explained how the department will now have eyes in the sky, but says these won't be surveillance spies.
"We follow the Fourth Amendment just like everybody else," Ruszkowski said.
SBPD has been using Flock Safety technology since 2012, primarily with its License Plate Reader (LPR) program, and Ruszkowski said there have been no privacy concerns thus far.
"We take privacy concerns seriously at Flock, and that's why the camera, the actual camera, as it's flying to the location of a call, is always pointed at the horizon," said Paris Lewbel, a representative with Flock. "We also have the transparency portal that allows the community to be able to see what the actual flight was for."
Eight hours after a flight, Ruszkowski said, information, including a map of the drone's route, will be made public on the SBPD Transparency Hub.
"[DFR] is not used preemptively or proactively," Ruszkowski said. "We don't use it to seek out wrongdoing or to invade anybody's privacy. I just want to be abundantly clear on that."
When it comes to flying over private property, that's fair game. Property owners do not own the airspace above their property.
Finally, anything recorded on the drones will be subject to public records requests. That video will be treated the same as a police officer's body-camera footage.
The full press conference was streamed live on ABC57's Facebook and can be viewed in full here.