From today's a.p.:
Lancaster approves anti-crime surveillance plane
Published: Friday, Nov. 11, 2011 - 11:27 am
Last Modified: Friday, Nov. 11, 2011 - 12:17 pm
LANCASTER, Calif. -- A surveillance plane that would cruise the skies over this Southern California desert city has been approved by city council members who believe it will help fight crime, but critics worry it could turn out to be a "1984"-style invasion of privacy.
The City Council on Tuesday voted for a $90,000-a-month program that would have a Cessna 172 equipped with infrared imaging and high-tech video gear roam the city 10 hours a day. The plane would cruise at 1,000 to 3,000 feet and send video to the local Los Angeles County sheriff's station.The so-called Law Enforcement Aerial Platform System, or LEAPS, could begin flying by May. It will cost $1.3 million to launch and $300 an hour to maintain.Supporters say the plane would act like a flying patrol car that could, for instance, spot a home invasion robbery and an accident.The plane's primary value is the ability "to see what's going on at the scene of a crime almost instantaneously," sheriff's Capt. Bob Jonsen of the Lancaster station told the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/vcZgyd)."It's our goal to become the safest city in America," said Mayor R. Rex Parris, an enthusiastic supporter.The Mojave Desert city of 145,000 already is working toward that goal. The crime rate so far this year is down 16 percent from the same period in 2010; by year's end, it may have plunged 40 percent since 2007.The plane would not be part of the Sheriff Department's Aero Bureau, which does not use its helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft for long-term or general surveillance.Those aircraft mainly respond to aid calls from deputies for pursuits and crimes in progress. "They're bouncing from one call to another...responding to things that are actually happening in real time," Aero Bureau Sgt. Jon Brick told The Associated Press. "If we're doing a surveillance, it's for a specific problem. We do not randomly surveil."The idea of a plane roaming over the city worries civil rights groups and some citizens, who fear it may invade privacy or be used to target specific neighborhoods or people."I think we have a privacy problem, and I think the city is going to have a lot of lawsuits," resident Ed Galinda told the City Council on Tuesday.The U.S. Department of Justice announced in August that it was investigating claims that sheriff's deputies discriminated against blacks and Latinos in Lancaster and neighboring Palmdale, especially those living in subsidized housing.The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California has filed a state public records request to obtain information about the program, such as how long the video will be kept and whether the images will be public record."People who have done nothing wrong shouldn't have anything they do in their yards or homes subject to video surveillance from the sky," senior staff attorney Peter Bibring told the Times. "To the extent that it involves observing things which a typical pilot overhead might not be able to see, it raises serious constitutional questions."The video is supposed to be encrypted and only designated deputies - not the pilot or city officials - are supposed to see the recordings, authorities said."The system follows existing law enforcement and citizen privacy protocol, as already established by the Sheriff's Department," according to a statement issued last week by Aero View LLC. The Lancaster company designed and built the plane along with Lancaster-based Spiral Technology, Inc.The video could be kept for up to two years so that evidence could be available if an unreported crime is discovered later, Aero View said.
Infrared imaging? Nice.
