Wind_Shear said:
Nice work helping our boys in blue. I'm sure once they get their hands on this technology they will only use it to investigate tragic accidents and protect us all from ourselves while at the same time being careful to not increase their (already well-honed) tactics of invading peoples' privacy with warrantless searches at their whim and for the slightest suspicion of whatever.
The Phantom (and those which follow) have made the technology available to anyone without the need for much skill. Police (and criminals) will have access whether experienced citizens "help" them or not. The notion that assisting them will give them access to something they wouldn't otherwise have isn't realistic. It'll be better for our community to be seen by authorities as helpful rather than as difficult (or worse).
Law enforcement, as with every profession, has their fair share of bad eggs .... and the bad eggs get a lot more press than those who do their job properly. They are all human, and mistakes are made (Robocop isn't real yet). But casting them all in the same light is unfair. I don't imagine there is any profession or company that hasn't been denounced at some point based on the poor performance of one of their kind. The difference with police is they have some authority over all of us, and when it's abused it
strikes close to home whether we're directly involved or not.
My experience with police is that you get what you give. If you are respectful, they will be even more so. My guess is that those who dislike police are getting their information from the media (meaning primarily "bad apple" reports spun to make the best "copy") or from someone who didn't like the way they were treated and can only tell one side of the story. Few of us are very good at seeing a situation objectively, and from any perspective other than our own. You may know you're a good guy, have done nothing wrong, and have nothing to hide but when you get belligerent because an officer doesn't also immediately know this, you are forcing him/her to take precautions. People forget police are human beings too. Just look at how some folks react on this forum to mere words ... calling others names and saying how stupid they are because they have a different opinion.
There are no shortage of incidents where an officer making a "routine" traffic stop is shot for no reason other than the uniform being worn. Who would want a job like that? It's hard to imagine that anyone would prefer to live in a country where there are no laws, and no police to enforce them. If that has appeal, I imagine there are plenty of countries available where something along those lines can be arranged.
What's that old saw about it being better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness? "Cursing" the police in general is pointless, it accomplishes nothing other than perhaps inciting others to chime in and curse along ... which also accomplishes nothing. Do something positive instead.
Here's a prediction ... various legislative bodies will pass laws restricting the authorities' use of UAVs, some will be well done and restrict abuses without totally tying their hands. Others will be simple and require warrants in all cases without any flexibility. Some situation will come along where the immediate use of a UAV could have prevented damage, injury, or even death, but the authorities are forced to waste time getting a warrant or whatever approval is mandated by the law. The headline will read "Police Fail To Do their Job". I hope I'm wrong.