CCLA to Hamilton Police: Cease and Desist Drone Program

TORONTO — The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) is demanding the Hamilton Police Service (HPS) immediately suspend their drone program.

The call follows a recent report of the Hamilton Police urging the expansion of the Remotely Piloted Aerial System program.

“The Hamilton Police do not need more tools to invade the privacy of Hamiltonians,” said Daniel Konikoff, Interim Director, Privacy, Technology and Surveillance.

HPS uses drones for criminal investigations and for monitoring large-scale events. Drones stand to capture more images of individuals at or near crime scenes than is relevant, and drones hovering above large-scale events can chill protest and freedom of expression.

“We don’t know whether the HPS addressed these issues in the privacy impact assessment (PIA) they conducted on their drone program or in the privacy-related documents they reviewed ahead of deployment. But HPS’ drone program has operated without consultation with the public, the Ontario Privacy Commissioner’s office, or the marginalized communities that stand to suffer the most from increased aerial surveillance. And notably, the PIA doesn’t prevent the arming of drones with weapons or facial recognition software, leaving the technology open to abuse and misuse,” concluded Konikoff.

CCLA calls on the HPS to cease and desist using drones immediately.

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À propos de l’association canadienne sur les libertés civiles
L’ACLC est un organisme indépendant à but non lucratif qui compte des partisans dans tout le pays. Fondée en 1964, c’est une association de défense des droits de la personne qui opère à l’échelle du Canada pour défendre les droits, la dignité, la sécurité et les libertés de toute la population.

Communications avec les médias :
media@ccla.org
Alex Nanoff
613.709.6318