RCMP in Nova Scotia aren’t playing around with drones.
Drones are being used for collision reconstruction, to document major crime scenes and, to some extent, for search and rescue.
But drone operator Sergeant Chris Romanchych says don’t expect to see them looking in your windows.
“There are better ways to conduct surveillance than using an aerial asset that has a battery life of anywhere from 12 -15 minutes. These are used primarily for evidence recording.”
Romanchych says while the cameras do take high quality images, they aren’t used for spying.
He says police would need a search warrant for that.
“Could it be used and do people fly them where they shouldn’t be? Absolutely. Are we the police using them for surveillance? Not without judicial authorization.”
He says he’s not aware that any of the seven drones in Nova Scotia have ever been used in that way.
Romanchych says they’re most effective for gathering information once police already have control of a scene.
