Bob McDonnell backs domestic drones
By TIM MAK | 5/30/12 7:54 AM EDT Updated: 5/30/12 8:24 AM EDT
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) said Tuesday that he supports the use of military-style drones to help local police monitor the commonwealth, saying that their deployment would be “the right thing to do.”
McDonnell argued that the advantages of aerial drones on the battlefield could be applied in the civilian policing context.
“I think it’s great; I think we ought to be using technology to make law enforcement more productive, cuts down on manpower and also more safe, that’s why we use it on the battlefield,” McDonnell said on radio station WTOP.
Further, the governor said that drones would be cost-effective and make policing safer.
“If you’re keeping police officers safe, making it more productive and saving money … it’s absolutely the right thing to do,” he added.
However, the governor also said that it would be important to ensure that drone use for things such as traffic surveillance would ensure civil liberties, such as privacy, if local law enforcement agencies choose to employ them.
Just last month, Fairfax County Police Chief David Rohrer predicted to the same radio station that “drones will certainly have a purpose and a reason to be in this region in the next, coming years.”
McDonnell is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0512/76859.html#ixzz1wMYQnXmE
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