Peel police considering drones as first responders to some 911 calls
Deputy chief says new program may be first of its kind in Canada
Police in Peel Region may soon deploy drones to certain 911 calls, something the deputy chief says could reduce response times.
While drones have increasingly been used by services around the country for a variety of police work, Deputy Chief Anthony Odoardi said in a statement Thursday that the new initiative would make Peel Regional Police "one of, if not the first police service in Canada to deploy drones in this capacity."
The intention is to reduce response times and give officers real-time information from the scene before they arrive, Odoardi said in the statement.
Exactly what types of calls drones will be assigned to is still being determined, he said, but they could possibly be used for "in-progress incidents" like break-and-enters, missing vulnerable persons and auto thefts.
"At this time, we are in the planning and regulatory review phase and will begin with a limited pilot to assess operational value, cost, and community impact," Odoardi said. "Privacy protections, including a Privacy Impact Assessment and community consultations, will guide implementation."
Drones will not be used for general surveillance and will not incorporate facial recognition technology, Odoardi said.
Transparency should be priority, says tech analyst
Carmi Levy, an Ontario-based technology analyst and journalist, says communication with the public on how drones are being used is key.
"If I'm walking down the street and I see a [police] drone zipping over my head, as a citizen, I want to understand why it's up there, what it's being used for," Levy told CBC Radio's Metro Morning last week.
The public should know what information drones are able to gather, how it's used and where it ends up, he said.
"It all comes down to context," Levy said.
"Potentially, this can be a game-changer when it comes to addressing crime and allowing the resources that we devote to law enforcement to cover more ground and keep us safer," he said. "I think we can realistically assume that's something we all want, but the devil is always in the details."
In Hamilton, where police began using drones in 2021, people in the city have voiced concerns in recent years over privacy and a lack of transparency from police over how drones were being used.
More recently, in Kingston, the use of drones this spring to catch and ticket distracted drivers drew immediate backlash from the public and legal experts, who said it was an invasion of privacy that may have violated drivers' Charter rights.
The use of drones is increasingly a part of police work across the country, often aiding in investigations, ground searches and collision reconstruction.
Last year, the Chatham-Kent Police Service said it was able to find a man wanted on several warrants with the help of a police drone after the man had fled into a wooded, swampy area about 100 kilometres southwest of London, Ont.
Deputy Chief Odoardi said in his statement that Peel Regional Police's planned use of drones on 911 calls is intended "to better support our communities and equip officers with the tools needed to enhance emergency response efforts."
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With files from Metro Morning and Radio-Canada