Big Brother to Launch “Eye in the Sky” in Miami

I am the eye in the sky

Looking at you, I can read your mind

I am the maker of rules

Dealing with fools, I can cheat you blind

And I don’t need to see any more to know that

I can read your mind (looking at you)

I can read your mind (looking at you)

I can read your mind (looking at you)

~ Eye in the Sky
Alan Parsons Project

The above lyrics instantly came to mind when I read about the new project about to be launched in the Miami-Dade area of Florida.  The Micro Air Vehicle, or MAV for short, is a small radio controlled drone aircraft equipped with a portable camera system.  It’s intended purpose is supposedly to allow officers to monitor situations that may be too dangerous to enter into physically without an understanding of what they’d be walking into.

“If an SRT (Special Response Team) has to go into an area they don’t know what’s there, we don’t know what is in the backyard,” said Miami-Dade Sgt. Andrew Cohen, “They want to know if there are dogs in the backyard, if there is a shed, things that could be a threat to us.”

Miami-Dade Country used a $50,000 federal grant to buy the MAV.  These devices are already in use by the U.S. Military to scan dangerous areas before troops are sent in.

While many see the positive implications that the MAV could have in high crime areas, others are questioning whether the eye in the sky over their city could be a dangerous invitiation for misuse, and as a result, infringement on the right to privacy.

“What happens when they fly over backyards and they see something without a warrant that they want to take against,” said ACLU Executive Director Howard Simon.

Police admit the MAV, if flown low enough, has the ability to look into people’s home, but that is not its intended purpose.

“If this thing is deployed, it’s only going to be used in situations where we already have an ongoing police scene,” said Cohen. “They are going to know we are there because we will have tactical teams, SRT teams, we’re going to have a perimeter, it’s going to be secure.”

The County is still waiting on FAA approval to use the MAV, and the process to gain approval can take up to six months.

Read more:  http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/03/09/dade-cops-waiting-to-get-crime-fighting-drone-airborne/

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