The San Antonio Police Department wants to get a handle on drones.
The personal small airplanes, generally equipped with cameras, have become a craze in the past year or so, with tens of thousands of drones owned by individuals in San Antonio.
Police Chief William McManus tomorrow will ask the City council Criminal Justice, Public Safety, and Services Committee to prohibit the operation of drones 'within sight of an ongoing police operation that poses a threat of death or serious bodily injury to any person to include: barricaded individuals, bomb incidents, hostage situations, active shooting incidents, and acts of terrorism.'
Much as with police scanners decades ago, police agencies are worried that criminals will use drones to 'spy' on police operations, to determine when officers are near and what they are doing, and even to get a shot at officers.
"In the last several years, law enforcement has noted the potential threat to public posed by the operation of drones in public venues," the City Council said in a memo.
McManus points out that state law and the FAA already prohibit drones from flying 'with intent to commit surveillance,' over a critical infrastructure facility at a height lower than 400 feet, or to make 'contact with a critical infrastructure facility.'
State law also prohibits using drones to 'photograph people on real public property,' and to fly low over private property to a place where the drone could, for example, take photographs through windows.
As drones get smaller, laws like this are going to become more important. There is talk of drones the size of flies, which would be unnoticed by most people.
IMAGE: GETTY