Ohio Creating Policy for Law Enforcement Drone Usage

COLUMBUS, OH - The use of drones by law enforcement has been a murky grey area for some time. Many citizens and pundits have worried about how drone usage may impact privacy laws. Those issues have prompted Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine to form an advisory group that will create a model law enforcement policy for the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

Unmanned aircraft systems, more commonly referred to as drones, can be used by law enforcement for a number of investigative purposes, such as crime scene and traffic accident investigations, missing persons cases, SWAT operations, and active shooter incidents.

"All of us must be mindful that the use of drones for law enforcement purposes – however legitimate and justified – is still relatively uncharted territory," said DeWine. "Citizens may have some understandable reservations about law enforcement's use of new technology like this, and this group will examine those issues."

The Ohio Attorney General's Advisory Group on Unmanned Aircraft Systems will issue recommendations on best practices and protocols that agencies can consider when creating their own UAS policy. The group will give particular consideration to privacy concerns that arise from UAS use.

The Advisory Group on Unmanned Aircraft Systems will be chaired by Cuyahoga Community College Police Chief Clayton Harris. In addition to Chief Harris, the advisory group includes the following members:

• Dr. Kelly Cohen, University of Cincinnati Aerospace
• J.Doug Daniels, Law Enforcement Training Officer, Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy
• Margot Kaminski, Assistant Professor of Law, The Ohio State University
• James Lawson, Director of Operations, Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center/Ohio Department of Transportation
• Dave Neff, Airport Traffic Controller, John Glenn Columbus International Airport
• Sgt. James Sanford, Medina County Sheriff's Office
• Dr. Andrew Shepherd, UAS Program Director, Sinclair Community College
• Daniel Stamm, Counter-UAS Program Manager, Battelle
• John Welsh, Aviation Safety Inspector, Federal Aviation Administration

Members of the advisory group will also serve as subject matter experts to advise the Attorney General's Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy in developing three new advanced training courses that will focus on investigating UAS complaints, the practical application of utilizing UASs, and implementing UAS programs.

Photo Credit: Andrew Turner via Flickr