That being said, I fail to see how this is any different (legally speaking) than police helicopters. So what if you can’t hear them? Big deal. As anonymous coward #55 pointed out, in order to use infared cameras to bust pot growers, a search warrant was needed. This *shouldn’t* be any different. Frankly, let the police run more drones instead of helicopters. Drones are safer, cheaper, and probably more stable and less likely to crash.

On the other hand, if these became floating drones that could fly up to your house window and peer in, that would be different; they should need a subpeona. (That being said, if a cop walks up to your house and sees through your open blinds you growing pot or other illegal activities, they have the right to enter/arrest/seize etc. since YOUR BLINDS ARE OPEN! These drones can’t see through blinds or roofs (without infrared or the tech from the body scanners at airports).

I don’t like the US becoming a “police state” and I firmly believe in my right to privacy, yada yada. But ultimately, as I already said, how is this different from police helicopters or traffic planes?

Teapot: I think you’re thinking too far ahead: it’s almost like you’re suggesting that the police drones will start following everyone everywhere all the time. Once again, these things don’t see through roofs (without infrared etc). Yes, these are much cheaper to operate than helicopters so more police agencies can buy them. While some will surely spend them to catch speeders on the highway (thus assessing speeding fines leading to more $$ to the government to spend on more drones or perhaps to balance state budgets or fritter away on useless stuff like the government usually does), I think/hope police agencies are more likely to use them to help with surveillance in situations they need surveillance and might otherwise have used a helicopter (say, watching drug dealers on a street corner from 1000 feet up so as to build evidence to arrest said drug dealers) but were likely turned down because helicopters were better utilized for police chases or whatever.

However, I don’t buy the whole “why worry about invasion of our privacy because if you’re not doing anything illegal you don’t need to worry” generally speaking. Let’s be a little honest here though, the police aren’t likely to be following you with drone unless you are doing something illegal. Yes nanny state is bad. Of course police officers are human like the rest of us and can succumb to petty, vindictive use (read: waste) of police resources for a variety of personal or other reasons and there is no doubt that police have wasted a lot of resources on conducting surveillance on people they shouldn’t have (like the Maryland State Police shenanigans from a few years ago and many other times too numerous to mention). I’m starting to ramble, but even if the police did follow me overhead with a drone, I doubt they’d see me doing anything more interesting that speeding and occasionally turning right on red when I’m not supposed to (of which I’ll bitch up a storm because I hate paying speeding tickets). After all, they can’t see through my closed blinds or through my roof to see all the movies and music I “borrow and just try them out but really honestly will buy the movie or music or software if I like the product” (read: pirate). Frankly, the vast majority of people are BORING! They don’t do anything illegal.

Ultimately, although I think there are plenty of cases of “In the name of terrorism” gone too far, I don’t think this is what’s happening here. I’m more worried about the TSA idiots posting nudie pictures of famous people online. Wait, did I say I’m worried. I meant eagerly waiting.

P.S. I use the phrase “on the other hand” too much.

Unrelated note: I will be changing my first name to Garage

click2houston apparently ran this story in *2007*.
http://www.click2houston.com/investigates/14659066/detail.html

While I’m disappointed that this kind of gov behavior hasn’t dried up under the current administration, something like this happening in 2007 under Bush is no surprise. Nobody ignored limits on gov power or even basic human decency like Bush.

Then again, what does it say when I’m congratulating people for doing their jobs?

Seriously folks.. WTF is going on here in the US?