By Cliff Montgomery – Sept. 28th, 2013
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has deployed unmanned ‘drone’ aircraft for domestic spying activities since 2006, it was recently revealed.
The Bureau has spent $3 million on the deployment of spy drones within the United States, according to a study from the Justice Department’s watchdog.
The FBI is an agency within the Justice Department (DOJ).
Such a revelation “is the first time the full extent of drone use in U.S. law enforcement has been acknowledged,” declared BBC News yesterday.
The report is the most recent instance in which the Obama Administration’s domestic spying activities have come under scrutiny.
“From 2004 to May 2013, DOJ law enforcement components reported spending in total approximately $3.7 million on UAS [i.e., drones], with the FBI accounting for over 80 percent of this amount,” stated the Justice study.
DOJ has based its drone activities on existing privacy rules, which govern manned aircraft use – but the report added that the FBI’s drone deployments may still violate privacy rights.
Drones may “be used in close proximity to a home and, with longer-lasting power systems, may be capable of flying for several hours or even days at a time, raising unique concerns about privacy and the collection of evidence,” declared the DOJ report.
Below, The American Spark quotes a major section of the report’s Executive Summary:
“The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is conducting an audit of the domestic use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) by the Department of Justice (DOJ), commonly referred to as unmanned aerial vehicles or ‘drones,’ as well as its support and provision of UAS to other law enforcement agencies and non-profit organizations.
“This interim report presents an overview of DOJ’s UAS use and policies as of May 2013.
“As of May 2013, four DOJ law enforcement components had either tested for evaluation or used UAS to support their operations. Although the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the only DOJ component to have used UAS to support its mission, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) reported to us that it plans to deploy UAS to support future operations.
“The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the United States Marshals Service (USMS) have acquired UAS for testing, but told us that they have no plans to deploy them operationally. Specifically, the DEA stated that it plans to transfer its UAS to another federal agency, while the USMS stated that it plans to destroy its UAS because its UAS are obsolete and [are] no longer operable.
“From 2004 to May 2013, DOJ law enforcement components reported spending in total approximately $3.7 million on UAS, with the FBI accounting for over 80 percent of this amount.
“In addition, the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) have provided $1.2 million in funding to seven local law enforcement agencies and non-profit organizations to purchase UAS for testing or use.
“The UAS known to have been purchased or funded by DOJ have been what the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) defines as ‘small UAS,’ which weigh up to 55 pounds. DOJ officials told us that none of their UAS are armed or carry releasable projectiles. Need for UAS-Specific Policies
“While both the FBI and ATF have developed procedures guiding how to receive approval to operate UAS, officials with both components told us they did not believe that there was a need to develop specialized UAS privacy protocols.
“During our review, FBI and ATF officials stated that they did not believe there was any practical difference between how UAS collect evidence through aerial surveillance as compared to manned aircraft.
“Consequently, we found that the FBI has been applying its existing aerial surveillance policies to guide how agents should use UAS.
“ATF officials told us that, as of May 2013, the ATF was developing a standard operational checklist to guide how its agents should use UAS.
“However, we found that the technological capabilities of UAS and the current, uncoordinated approach of DOJ components to UAS use may merit the DOJ developing consistent, UAS-specific policies to guide the proper use of UAS.
“Unlike manned aircraft, UAS can be used in close proximity to a home and, with longer-lasting power systems, may be capable of flying for several hours or even days at a time, raising unique concerns about privacy and the collection of evidence with UAS.
“Considering that multiple DOJ components are using or have the potential to use UAS, we believe the Office of the Deputy Attorney General (ODAG), which has responsibility within DOJ for formulating cross-component law enforcement policies, should consider the need for a DOJ-wide policy regarding UAS uses that could have significant privacy or other legal implications.”
