Could drones make Milwaukee safer? Other cities are using the technology

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson recently compared the city to a "war zone." In a speech to Rotary Club of Milwaukee he described bursts of rapidly fired gunshots captured on audio by police from four separate incidents in May. Since then, while overall homicides are down, children have fallen victim far too often to violence.

In any war since the dawn of civilization, enemies learn to use the best technology to wage war. One recent example featured in the New York Times reports that Ukraine's military has adapted to counter Russia's overwhelming military advantage with drones.

Drones extend the Ukrainian infantry's limited reach. Reconnaissance drones keep soldiers safe, constantly monitoring Russian attacks and providing feedback to correct artillery targeting. During the daytime, they fly over enemy lines to identify targets; at night, they return with payloads. Ukrainian command centers use personal computers and open-source software to classify targets and execute operations.

What does this have to do with Milwaukee?

To begin with, psychological studies have shown that when anyone is watched, they behave more honestly. Dan Aerily cited that study in the book, "The Honest Truth about Dishonesty." If drones watch potential criminals, they deter dishonest behavior.

One enterprising fellow citizen, a graduate of MIT, has suggested a similar approach to Milwaukee's efforts to make the city safer as part of the Daniel Hoan Foundation's competition offering cash awards to citizens who can propose workable innovative ideas to reduce crime that lowers the cost of government.

The writer points out that other states have been experimenting with drones to deter or even prosecute criminal behavior.

In 2018 the police department in Chula Vista, California, procured a special waiver connected to the Unmanned Aerial Systems Integration Pilot Program run by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which aims to evaluate how drones can be safely deployed. That waiver allowed the department to create its Drone as a First Responder program, which allows police to fly over the city using small multirotor drones that are launched and piloted from central headquarters.

When a 911 call comes in, a Chula Vista dispatcher decides whether to send a drone. The answer often is yes, in which case the drone launches from the department HQ and flies to the scene of the incident at an altitude of about 300 to 400 feet. It also records video through a zoom camera lens, streaming footage back and responding to officers' mobile devices.

The footage is stored in Chula Vista's data repository, where detectives and police can access it as well as the district attorney. That helps eliminate the full dependence on witnesses who may be afraid to testify because of revenge killing.

The Chula Vista police department runs this program ten hours daily, seven days a week, from four launch sites. These drones expand resources in several ways. For example, if only one officer is available when two calls come in— one for an armed suspect and another for shoplifting — the officer will respond to the first one, and dispatchers can send a drone to trail the suspected shoplifter.

Drones fly regularly when police conduct welfare checks and respond to reports of domestic violence. Drones fly to scenes of child endangerment incidents, attempted suicides, overdoses, and scenarios described as "person down." Drones can get to the scene quickly, allowing armed police officers to use the drone imagery to take stock of the situation before they arrive.

Using drone technology to assess potentially dangerous situations keeps police officers out of harm's way before the risks are fully understood.

But there are advantages even in benign scenarios such as public gatherings and festivals. Knowing they are on camera might give potential troublemakers pause. Even if people are screened for weapons as they enter festival grounds, drones could be used to scan informal entry points and surrounding parking lots. Good people living on tough streets might take comfort knowing that their neighborhoods are under surveillance.

Drones aren't new to police departments. More than 1,500 departments nationwide now use them, mostly for search and rescue, to document crime scenes, and to chase suspects. Until a few years ago, the FAA limited their use, which required that police departments fly drones only within operators' lines of sight. But starting in 2019, the agency began offering Beyond Visual Line of Sight waivers, opening the possibility of longer flights, remote operation, and more efficient and expansive fleets.

More: Together, we lit the Daniel Hoan bridge, now we want your best ideas for making Milwaukee safer

Chula Vista was the first police department to be awarded such a waiver. Now roughly 225 departments have them. The usage of drones has been challenged in some jurisdictions, such as New York, but the courts generally uphold their use. The Right of Privacy ceases whenever an individual enters the public sphere.

Wisconsin law governing the use of drones confirms that, and it provides the following:

"No Wisconsin law enforcement agency may use a drone to gather evidence or other information in a criminal investigation from or at a place or location where an individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy without first obtaining a search warrant. This subsection does not apply to the use of a drone in a public place or to assist in an active search and rescue operation, to locate an escaped prisoner, to surveil a place or location to execute an arrest warrant, or if a law enforcement officer has reasonable suspicion to believe that the use of a drone is necessary to prevent imminent danger to an individual or to prevent imminent destruction of evidence."

According to the author of this idea, it's time for Milwaukee to use this technology that has been successfully used throughout the United States and other parts of the world.

Do you have an idea to make Milwaukee safer? Submit it to the Hoan Foundation's Innovate Milwaukee Government competition (innovatemkegov.org). Prizes will be awarded as follows: First $20,000; second $15,000; third $5,000. Winners will be announced at the Wisconsin Policy Forum's annual Salute to Local Government in November.

 Daniel Steininger is the grandson of Daniel Hoan and the former chairman of the Harbor Commission of the Port of Milwaukee.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Using drones could extend the presence of law enforcement in Milwaukee