In a stark
about turn, most Americans now have significant reservations about the use of
drones by government and law enforcement.
Just six months
ago, a survey conducted by The Associated Press and The National Constitution
Center found that more Americans supported than opposed the use of surveillance
drones by domestic law enforcement agencies.
In that poll,
only 36 percent said that they “strongly” opposed or “somewhat” opposed police
use of drones, where as 44 percent supported the idea of police using unmanned
aerial vehicles to track suspects and carry out
investigations.
The poll also
found that only one third of Americans were significantly concerned about their
privacy being eroded by the adoption of drones by police forces throughout the
country.
Now, in a
Reason-Rupe national survey, sixty percent of respondents believe that, to some
degree, the use of drones by local law enforcement to conduct surveillance
without a warrant is an invasion of personal privacy.
In addition, 47
percent of respondents to the latest poll said they believe they have a right to
destroy a UAV if it flies over their house without their
permission.
Shifting to
overseas use of drones, In a Pew Research Center study, conducted some five
months ago, more than half of the American public were found to be in support of
targeted assassinations with drones, even if that meant killing American
citizens.
Now, in the
latest poll, 57 percent of respondents say it is unconstitutional to order the
killing of Americans overseas. Even more - 59 percent - believe that the federal
government abuses its power when it comes to targeted
strikes.
The latest
survey indicates that along with an exponential increase in the use of drones
both at home and abroad has come a sustained push back from the general
public.
More attention
has been focused on the use of UAVs and the potential they have for eviscerating
fundamental rights to privacy and the due process of law.
More and more
states and cities are advancing and/or passing laws against the use of drones in
their skies by government and law agencies.
Plans to roll out drones by law enforcement agencies in Washington State, Virginia, California and New York have recently met with stern opposition. Prison Planet
In a major step
toward opening U.S. skies to thousands of unmanned drones, federal officials in
February solicited proposals to create six drone test sites around the country.
AP According to the
Department of Homeland Security’s website, the U.S. government has already been
using drones domestically for several years, but remains mostly mum on their
missions. RT Privacy
advocates worry that a proliferation of drones will lead to a "surveillance
society" in which the movements of Americans are routinely monitored, tracked,
recorded and scrutinized by the authorities. AP A data dump of
government documents secured via the Freedom of Information Act, released in
August shows that the roll out of domestic unmanned drones will, for the most
part, be focused solely on the mass surveillance of the American people. Prison
Planet
AHT/AGB
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