Collin County may start using unmanned drones for surveillance

by Bill Baumbach of The Collin County Observer

Yesterday was the 60th birthday of George Orwell's novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, which portrayed a future in which government surveillance was a pervasive tool of government control over individual actions.

While Orwell's novel has become one of the world's all time best sellers, here in the real world 1984 has come and gone - fortunately without the repressions predicted by Mr. Orwell.

The Collin County Observer would like to celebrate the anniversary of the publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four with the following tidbit:

Last week, the Collin County Sheriff's Department gained approval from the Commissioners' Court to request $235,000 in Federal stimulus grants to purchase 6 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

These UAVs are remote controlled airplanes equipped with cameras and are similar to the military's Predator drones used in Afghanistan and Iraq for reconnaissance and to call in bomb and cruise missile strikes. The grant application explains that, "They may be launched by one person. The UAVs will carry a gyro-stabilized camera and may remain aloft for over 1 hour depending on the payload."

"Once launched the operation would then be supported from a nearby command post by trained personnel. From this vantage point real time video transmissions would prove invaluable to deputies and officers on the ground involved in the operation. Real-time decisions could be made that would have immediate impact on the result of the event, safety of the officers, citizens involved, as well as the general public."

The Collin County Sheriff has no intention of calling for Air Force bombing runs, but does see a need to use the drones as an economical alternative to purchasing a real helicopter.

According to the grant application, "A major problem for the law enforcement agencies in Collin County is that there are no air support capabilities within the County. The closest air support for Collin County is Dallas Police Department or the Texas Department of Public Safety. Both have helicopters but are generally only available for emergency purposes. Within the last two years, the Collin County Sheriff’s Office has requested air support from either Dallas PD or DPS on numerous occasions for problems such as fugitives at large, drownings, and missing children. In some of the cases either DPD or DPS was able to respond, but only after a lengthy delay. There were numerous other incidents that would have benefited by air surveillance. These include major crowd gatherings, pursuits, narcotics surveillance, illegal dumping, tactical support, and natural disasters."

The Sheriff's Department would use the grant funds to purchase 6 of these UAVs. One would be run by the Sheriff's personnel, the other 5 would be doled out to the Allen, Frisco, McKinney, Plano and Wylie Police Departments.

As far as I know, the county has not requested matching cruise missiles to be used against our illegal dumpers.