The growing use of unmanned aerial vehicles by police in the U.S.

The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to have regulations governing their use in commercial airspace by the end of this month. So far, four police agencies have been approved to use UAVs: the Mesa County Sheriff’s office in rural Colorado, Miami-Dade Police, Lane County Sheriff, Ore. and the Texas Department of Public Safety

Many law enforcement authorities consider drone surveillance technology an invaluable tool when there is limited manpower or the terrain is too remote or rugged to conduct land-based surveillance or search and rescue missions.

The new generation of civilian law enforcement UAVs can be purchased for under $50,000 apiece, just a few thousand dollars more than a fully equipped patrol car.

In 2009, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office obtained an experimental demo model Draganflyer X6 from Draganfly Innovations in Saskatoon, Canada which, according to Heather Benjamin, the sheriff’s spokesperson, was relegated to test and training flights over the county landfill for more than a year and a half because of strict FAA regulations.

Mesa County has deployed the Draganflyer X6 some 30 times for search and rescue, fugitive searches, and fatal accidents “It has only been in the last few months that our Certificate of Authorization was expanded to allow us to us the device tactically,” Benjamin said.

Since the restrictions have been loosened by the FAA on when law enforcement agencies can deploy a drone, allowing them to deploy it for tactical use without permission (although the agency must still be notified). They are expected to be loosened even further for civilian law enforcement agencies nationwide in the coming weeks.
http://www.thecrimereport.org/news/inside-criminal-justice/2012-01-drones-on-the-home-front