Across California, police departments are rapidly expanding “Drone as First Responder” programs, triggering intense public backlash over warrantless surveillance and corporate overreach.
Across California, police departments are rapidly expanding “Drone as First Responder” programs, triggering intense public backlash over warrantless surveillance and corporate overreach.
apparently SFPD is using them to find building code violations without any legal pretext to inspect homes.
Uncertain of how jurisdictions are broken up for this power; but construction/inspection warrants are far easier to get and dont require the same level of rigidity as a search warrant. This was my uncle’s realization of what type of people police really are. He was a construction contractor who obtained a construction warrant for a building that police have had their eye the residents of for years, and the police showed up to the facility when he did to get around the requirements for their search warrant, basically using him and his construction warrant as an excuse to search what they had wanted.
Something something, drones looking for construction failures --> contractor gets a construction warrant --> police have a way around a search warrant.
Also edit: This is a secondhand story from a while back, and the caveat of the construction warrant was that they could not enter unless someone answered the door. That being said, many people know not to answer doors for police, but construction workers? I can see even myself falling for that one.
interesting info, I got the impression they were going after built resident homes more than construction, but it’s good to know.
They are. Specifically houses with some code violation, so they can get a justification to send in a contractor with a construction warrant.
Edit: I use the term “Construction warrant” because I believe that’s what it’s called, but I might be using it as a misnomer.