New Whitepaper on Use of Uncrewed Aerial Systems

A RESPONSE TO THE CONCERNS OF CIVIL LIBERTIES GROUPS ON LAW ENFORCEMENT’S USE OF UNCREWED AERIAL SYSTEMS

As law enforcement agencies continue to lose officers without bringing in capable candidates to replace them, American communities small and large are bearing the consequences. These consequences include longer wait times for service—or no response at all—fewer crimes solved and cleared, and the proliferation of overworked and burned-out officers.

Our nation’s police and sheriffs seek innovative ways to continue their duties with fewer officers on the street and fewer detectives conducting investigations.

One approach is via uncrewed aerial systems (UASs), also known as drones. Law enforcement agencies have been increasingly using drones to perform routine and specialized tasks including first response to reported incidents, search and rescue, criminal apprehension, and SWAT operations. Similarly, police have touted benefits such as lives saved and injuries reduced, more efficient deployment of resources, time saved, and enhanced situational awareness.

Yet, some privacy and civil liberties advocates, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), fear that law enforcement will deploy drones improperly as their availability increases. Most notably, a July 2023, report released by the ACLU, called Eye-in-the-Sky Policing Needs Strict Limits, raises concerns that “drones will usher in an era of pervasive, suspicionless mass aerial surveillance” and recommends that communities refrain from initiating drones as a first responder (DFR) programs “until we have a better sense of how this technology is playing out in the real world.”

In a follow-up report released in March 2024, the ACLU doubled down by arguing that U.S. law enforcement agencies are “gravitating towards” routine use of drones over public gatherings. It says the need for drones to prevent violence at gatherings is “dubious at best,” warning that drone oversight and recording will discourage people from exercising their rights to gather and express themselves.

Most recently, on April 8, 2025, the ACLU of New York (NYCLU) released a report called Prying Eyes: Government Drone Data Across New York State, calling for the New York legislature to more strongly regulate law enforcement drones. The report notes that the NYPD alone has increased its drone arsenal from 19 to 99 in just the past two years, arguing that “The dangers posed by these incredibly powerful spying devices are hard to overstate, and they’re being used with virtually no regulation.”

Given the mounting evidence that drones provide a substantial benefit to law enforcement and their communities, and in light of the warnings by civil liberties groups, the Rutgers University Miller Center on Policing, the Global Consortium for Law Enforcement Training Executives (GCLETE), and the Life Safety Alliance examined the ACLU’s and other groups’ analyses and conclusions and now offer an independent evaluation of their work.

This report catalogs the various groups’ concerns, then documents drone laws, regulations, ordinances, and policies already in place at the federal, state, municipal, and department levels. This report then examines the “Five Cs” issued by the nonprofit DRONERESPONDERS, which articulates an approach for responsible use of drones that doesn’t undermine privacy rights or civil liberties. (The Five C’s are Community Engagement and Transparency, Civil Liberties and Privacy Protection, Common Operating Procedures, Clear Oversight and Accountability, and Cybersecurity.) Next, our report assesses relevant case law on privacy and responsible use of drones by law enforcement.

We then analyze the ACLU’s and others’ criticisms concerning 'mission creep”, data collection and storage, the “psychological effect” of the presence of drones, the chilling effect on free speech, and police “transparency.” Finally, we address the recommendation that law enforcement cease creating new DFR programs until more real-world effects of drones are understood.

While the ACLU and the other groups make valid points and raise important questions—and law enforcement agencies should pay heed—we conclude that most of the concerns are speculative. Moreover, given the information available to date, the successes and promise of drones overwhelm the negative speculation the ACLU and other organizations paint with a broad brush in their reports and public releases.

Back in 2014, a report by the Brookings Institute titled Drones and Aerial Surveillance: Considerations for Legislators concluded the following: “While a robust public debate over the use of domestic drones in warranted, the conclusion that widespread privacy violations are imminent is premature.” Eleven years later, we still don’t see widespread privacy violations. Either the concerns are still premature, or they are not justified. While some of the ACLU’s concerns might materialize in isolated situations, we strongly recommend not undermining an initiative that preserves precious police resources, saves lives, prevents injuries, and gives communities a powerful response to help protect themselves.

“Civil liberties are a precious cornerstone of democratic societies,” said Michael Gips, co-author and President of the Life Safety Alliance. “We need to respect and preserve them. But our analysis shows that drones are being used responsibly and transparently, with policies and oversight already in place in many jurisdictions.”

In December 2024, thousands of reports emerged of sightings of drones—some the size of cars or SUVs—either alone or in swarms, over New Jersey and nearby states. Even some state and local officials personally reported such sightings. Federal authorities dismissed many of these sightings as misidentification of small planes, hobbyist drones, or stars. While this phenomenon falls outside the scope of the current report, it bears mention because it involves the issues of government accountability and transparency, which this report argues are critical to a viable law enforcement drone program.

Read the full report.

Download the press announcement:

LSA_DroneReport_250414b.pdf

Download PDF • 235KB

.