Law enforcement drones are law enforcement robots utilized by law-enforcement agencies and other public safety organizations. A law enforcement drone is different from military drones because law enforcement drones don't carry weapons and they can only be used for surveillance.
Law enforcement vehicles of the future will include police cars, motorcycles, helicopters, boats, Segways, bicycles, scooters and law enforcement drones. These law-enforcement vehicles of the future can be controlled remotely or run autonomously using artificial intelligence.
Military drones have been in heavy use overseas by American troops against countries like Iraq and Afghanistan but these same drones may make their way to America's neighborhoods as law-enforcement vehicles in the near future. Drone technology has advanced a long way but laws about how a law-enforcement drone should be used and what a law-enforcement agency can do with one are still being hashed out.
Some law enforcement agents believe that drones will become more common for law enforcement agencies in the future because it's easy to see how law-enforcement drones can be useful. Some law-enforcement agents call law enforcement drones 'eye in the sky' because the drones act as an overhead surveillance device that makes law enforcement tasks safer, faster and less complicated than they already are.
A good example of how law-enforcement drones can be used is during dangerous law enforcement tasks like hostage situations or toxic spills where officers may not want to put themselves in harm's way if there isn't any need to. A law enforcement drone could fly over the law enforcement scene and record the events while law-enforcement agents are in a safer location. If something turns grave, law enforcement officers can use law-enforcement drones to drop first aid supplies or communicate with the person who has taken hostages.
Law enforcement house searches are another law enforcement task that could be made easier for law enforcement agents by using law enforcement drones because drones can fly over large properties searching for hiding criminals. Before, law-enforcement agents had to break down every door until they found someone but now law enforcements agents have an easy alternative which is to get a search warrant allowing them to use a law enforcement drone which will give them full access of the property including 'hidden' rooms.
This differs from military drones which are used overseas because law enforcement drones can only be used for law-enforcement purposes and law enforcement agents do not have the same legal authority as soldiers. Military drones are used to kill or capture enemy militants while law-enforcement agencies in America cannot carry out these actions because there is still a debate about how law enforcement agents should use law enforcement drones when it comes to surveillance.
Law enforcement agencies, in general, believe that the positive effects of using law-enforcement drones overweighs the negative but many people are still concerned about how law-enforcement drones will affect privacy rights in America where citizens are protected by the Fourth Amendment which prohibits search and seizure without warrant, probable cause or consent. Law enforcement agencies say that law enforcement drone technology doesn't pose much of a threat to law-abiding citizens who aren't doing anything wrong but law enforcement drone technology is still relatively new and evolving.
