North Dakota, federal officials weigh in on drones as law enforcement tool

Gary Mortimer

FARGO – Law enforcement officials in the Fargo-Moorhead area said they haven’t used unmanned surveillance aircraft to search for wanted criminals, but they aren’t closing the door to the idea.

North Dakota’s federal lawmakers said they also support it as an option when necessary under unique circumstances.

But civil rights activists want strict standards put in place to regulate the domestic use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems in order to protect individual privacy.

Two of the nation’s unmanned Predator B drones – based in Grand Forks – have aided local police in at least two-dozen surveillance flights since June, The Los Angeles Times recently reported.

One of those missions was in rural northeastern North Dakota, the newspaper said.

Predator drones are more commonly associated with military surveillance missions overseas, but U.S. Customs and Border Protection also operates eight drones to monitor the country’s northern and southern borders.

Law authorities in Fargo, Moorhead and Cass County said they’ve never called on the drones for assistance.

Cass County Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Jim Thoreson said he can’t think of a time when the drones would help local investigations.

“I’m not saying we wouldn’t use them, it’s just that we haven’t,” Thoreson said. “From a surveillance standpoint, it would be hard to see a situation that we would need that.”

Red River Valley SWAT team commander and Fargo police Lt. Ross Renner agreed it’s unclear when the drones might be helpful.

http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/345453/