Posted on 07/26/2013 2:18:04 AM PDT by TexGrill
A Missouri police chief has asked the Federal Aviation Administration for his very own surveillance drone, which he would use to conduct police chases and monitor the city for criminals.
“To help keep officers safe, to help keep the community safe. For monitoring public spaces – things like the upcoming Fair St. Louis [and] baseball games – for terrorists, suspicious activity,” St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson told KSDK.
The police chief does not like to use the word ‘drone’, so in his request to the FAA, he asked for permission to use an ‘unmanned surveillance vehicle’, he told KTVI. Dotson believes the surveillance vehicles would help police capture fleeing criminals and ultimately reduce crime in St. Louis.
“Criminals believe, and with some truth, that if they flee from police officers, officers will not pursue and they will ultimately elude capture,” Dotson wrote in hisMarch 25letter to the FAA. “If we are serious about crime reduction strategies, we must look to new technologies which help keep officers and the public safe and apprehend criminals.”
Dotson says purchasing drones, at the price of $80,000-$300,000 a piece, is a more cost-effective solution than purchasing helicopters, which cost about $2-$2.5 million. Some surveillance drones can even cost less than $10,000, Dotson told Fox2 News. The newest generation of surveillance drones can be as small as a coffee cup and do not carry any weapons.
If approved to employ a drone, Doston said he would seek out donations and grants to buy the unmanned surveillance vehicle.
(Excerpt) Read more at rt.com ...
At $80k to $300k a piece is cheaper than a helicopter but you need all the support and man-hour requirements that go along with it. It’s not a one time cost.
Makes more sense to buy a patrol car and hire a cop, have boots on the ground and do their job vice a camera overhead.
Have it follow him 24/7. See how his boyfriend likes it.
Police mission #1: Watch out for safety of the police.
Police mission #2: Watch out for safety of police union pension.
Police mission #3: Watch out for safety of current police budget.
...
Police mission #87: Try to solve a crime once in a while.
Total BS. He just wants an expensive RC toy to play with. Cops vs Robbers video game robot loaded with weapons style. Oops sorry sir, didnt mean o shoot you, I pressed the “B” button instead of the “A” button. My bad...
maybe to steal the visitor team's signs?
There’s that “SAFE” word again.
The liberal females, the timid, the stupid and ignorant, along with the woosified males and all others who cannot think rationally will gladly surrender their freedoms in the name of “SAFETY” provided by government.
Look where we are at now and look back 50 years and see what out great country used to be and the freedoms we used to have.
I live in St. Louis. The problem is not the police. The problem is the liberal legal system. Impeach some of these liberal judges and remove the union strangle hold on politics.
Dept. of Pre-crime ?
Well, no wonder. St. Louis has publically announced they want to be a "destination city" for illegals.
Well, no wonder. St. Louis has publically announced they want to be a "destination city" for illegals.
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