The city of San Jose inched closer on Wednesday night to green-lighting drone use for the city’s police officers.
The San Jose’s Neighborhoods Commission met at City Hall to hear an update on the draft policy for the city’s use of "Unmanned Aerial Systems," or drones, on its police force.
The city manager’s office presented a timeline for the next steps of moving a drone policy forward as well as recommendations for how police should use drones.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, the report presented endorses a one-year pilot program for drone surveillance. According to a recent memo from the San Jose City Council, the city is unlikely to launch the program until 2017 at the earliest.
The Mercury News added that several other committee members will hear the report before an official recommendation is made to the city council.
In 2014, San Jose Police acquired a drone, but it is not yet in operation. This drone and the San Jose drone policy in general have been the subject of heated public debate throughout the country over the last year, as civil liberty activists question whether the public's privacy rights will be put into jeopardy.
