CCTV in the sky: (UK) police plan to use military-style spy drones

[Newsjock]

Source: The Guardian

Police in the UK are planning to use unmanned spy drones, controversially deployed in Afghanistan, for the "routine" monitoring of antisocial motorists, protesters, agricultural thieves and fly-tippers, in a significant expansion of covert state surveillance.

The arms manufacturer BAE Systems, which produces a range of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for war zones, is adapting the military-style planes for a consortium of government agencies led by Kent police.

Documents from the South Coast Partnership, a Home Office-backed project in which Kent police and others are developing a national drone plan with BAE, have been obtained by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act.

They reveal the partnership intends to begin using the drones in time for the 2012 Olympics. They also indicate that police claims that the technology will be used for maritime surveillance fall well short of their intended use – which could span a range of police activity – and that officers have talked about selling the surveillance data to private companies. A prototype drone equipped with high-powered cameras and sensors is set to take to the skies for test flights later this year.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jan/23/cctv-sky-police-plan-drones

[TheBigotBasher]

1. Done that already for a good while.

Have you been around Parliament Square in the last 2 years or to a football match?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psZjen_sqZ8

(Not sure why in this video they wanted to get the dog in).

[TheBigotBasher]

2. Not sure why thi got moved to DU G

but yep those little cute alien craft are a very different kind of men in black.

[panzerfaust]

3. Military Style Drones as CCTV is NOT(!?) LBN ... why was this moved??

Newsjock was right to post this in LBN. It is NEWS for JC's Sake!!

The UK government is selling it, initially, as being mainly for coastal marine survelence and for the Olympics -

...Documents...have been obtained by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act.

They...indicate that police claims that the technology will be used for maritime surveillance fall well short of their intended use...officers have talked about selling the surveillance data to private companies...

...UAVs would "greatly extend" the government's surveillance capacity and "revolutionise policing."

Yes. Revolutionize - as in realizing the dream of Big Brother.

Eric Blair was English, and he could see where his country was headed - just took a bit longer than 1984 to get there.



We are not far behind the Mother Country on the road to a Police State.

[dipsydoodle]

5. Got moved from the United Kingdom forum too

which is even more mysterious given that it refers to our police. :shrug:

Anyway - most things like that can be taken out with either a Diablo catapult and a ball bearing, assuming you can still buy those, or a kite on wire.

[Art_from_Ark]

7. A catapult?

You mean, like those huge weapons that were used to bombard castles?

[dipsydoodle]

8. Nope

The small hand held ones which can put a ball bearing through a car showroom window and puncture the wing of a new Mercedes. I did have some odd friends once upon at time. Maybe you call them slingshots ?

[Art_from_Ark]

9. Holy mackeral

I never had a slingshot like that, certainly not one that was as powerful. But, yes, I guess the American word for that would be a slingshot, although from that picture, "catapult" does seem to be more appropriate.

[bananas]

10. It was moved from the UK forum twice

It was moved from LBN to the UK forum,
then moved from the UK forum to the UK forum,
then moved to GD.
LBN : http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4238580
UK#1: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=191x29165
UK#2: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=191x29164
GD : http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7548721

[MadHound]

4. Bring those on over here,

I know a lot of people who would love to play target practice with these puppies.

[MilesColtrane]

6. They'll be here soon enough.

[yowzayowzayowza]

11. "fly-tipper"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly-tipping

Never woulda guessed that one!!!