SECURITY DRONES: New spectators at urban marathons and other public events?

In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing last year, this year’s event featured beefed-up security – added police officers, low-flying helicopters, and other measures. While it appears that security drones were not part of event security this year, experts say that their participation will soon become inevitable.

A recent article in The Atlantic Cities confirmed that big cities across America plan to rely on drones to provide extra security for upcoming public events. Boston police commissioner Edward Davis said after last year’s tragedy that “drones are a great idea” for a future marathon, though that idea has reportedly since been turned down.

Several other municipalities and local law-enforcement agencies are among the many and varied entities that have applied for licenses to operate drones, however—including the Seattle police, the Miami-Dade police, and the Clackamas County sheriff’s office in Oregon. There been speculation over whether New York Police Department (NYPD), which is charged with protecting the city’s annual marathon in November, will turn to drone security.

Shortly after last year’s marathon, tech site Motherboard called it “an open secret that New York’s finest have been eyeing drones as prospective aerial surveillance tools.” It cited another report indicating that the NYPD’s counterterrorism division has talked to the Federal Aviation Administration about the possibility of using drones. 

New York’s former mayor, Michael Bloomberg, called drone surveillance “scary” but inevitable on his radio program, opining that “you can’t keep the tides from coming in.” It remains to be seen whether Bloomberg’s successor, Bill de Blasio, will support the idea, given the political repercussions of aerial surveillance. Stay tuned for more on this topic!

Source: Jake Becker, “Sooner or later, security drones will be hoveing other major marathongs,” The Atlantic Cities, April 21, 2014