Restraint, transparency and community oversight are gaining in Seattle and Los Angeles County as Seattle passed a law mandating civilian oversight of new purchases of surveillance technologies and a L.A. County oversight group rejected policies governing the use of surveillance drones. (Electronic Frontier Foundation, August 7,2017, by Shadis Buttar)
Two years after acquiring two drones, the Los Angeles Police Department has resumed its campaign to use them in law enforcement. The groups opposing their deployment are afraid that the drones would not be limited to specific tasks such as monitoring standoffs but be used secretly to spy on law-abiding citizens. (Los Angeles Daily News, August 8, 2017, by City News Service)