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AN GARDA SÍOCHÁNA are considering the purchase of robotic drones to help with surveillance according to an article in today’s Irish Times.
The news comes as investigative website TheDetail.tv reports that the PSNI has used drones 114 times in Northern Ireland since June 2013.
The rules concerning unmanned aircraft are currently being reviewed in Ireland, but gardaí are seemingly looking to keep up with developments.
Today’s poll, Would you support gardaí using drones?
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Great for crowd control and policing events however do we really want our local cop looking into our backyards whenever they feel like? Who would police the police and what sort of control would be over the whole thing?
It would mean a drone does not need a warrant to spy.
There seems to be more of a emphasis on turning Ireland into an Orwellian police state than fixing our economical issues.
Will they be fitted with rockets to deal with the filth preying on the elderly “Dat roof need fixing missis”…boom. “I have a bit of tarmac left over and I’ll fix yer driveway for “……boom
If they were being used for specific events or purposes under warrant then I wouldn’t have a problem. I would have an issue with their everyday use to spy on people at random. Our local guard calls around every once in a while just to keep in touch which is great but at least he knocks on the door. I might have a different view if I was sitting in my back garden enjoying the sun only to have the shadow of a drone pass over me gawking at what ever they want to.
You know they already have a helicopter, right?
NOOOO! That’s news to me! Of course I know they have a helicopter, in fact they have 2 of them. Point is that with drones every station in the country could be encroaching on peoples privacy. At least with the helo you know that it’s there and that if your missus is out the back sun bathing topless she can cover up rather than have the lads down the local nick getting an eyeful with their silent drone.
Well, since we’re being paranoid….how do you knowing I’m not doing that with my drone?
because I’m in my bunker! :-)
The Garda Air Wing has two EC-135 helicopters and a Defender spy plane.
Where, I can’t see you?
Drones are far from silent. They are actually fairly loud
A 12 gauge shotgun with full choke and No4 bird shot would be my response to one of these Gaurds or not.And perfectly within my rights. It is considerd tresspass and unauthorised surveillance without proable cause and most law enforcement agencies in the US have been slapped down in their “generl use”.No problem using them for checking out a known crack house or back yard car dismantler.NOT acceptable for just flying over a neighbourhood hoping to catch some crime happening or checking out what people are up to.
cholly, the small ones with the electric motors are near to silent.
Whats the point in gardai apprehending criminals more effectively and expeditiously with these contraptions only for our left leaning judges to slap the criminals on the wrist with a warning and are free to commit the same and sometimes more violent crimes over and over again.
Root and branch reform of the criminal justice system is what is needed that puts the rights of the victims first.
I say yes – but only if they are used as a cheaper and less noisy alternative to the Garda helicopter.
And only in pursuit of someone attempting to evade the law.
Would not like them being used pro actively to find crime in back gardens.
As long as they’re not Fiat or Hyundai drones. The last thing we need is these falling from the sky :)
Bad idea. Put more Guards on the streets and out on patrol. Their power as a deterrent is severely underrated.
Deterrence left policing around 2 decades ago. Go into any district or circuit court and see the sentences handed out. There is no deterrent whatsoever.
That comment has nothing to do with why this is a bad idea. You could do both
Lolz they’ve all been sent to Wicklow Town
The probability is that there will be less chance of seeing Garda on the beat if drones are introduced. It would be similar to the introduction of speed vans whereas now you see a lot less of Garda doing speed checking, especially close to towns. It would be nice if new ideas could enforce the Garda but they usually just cut back, I think they must go by Newton’s laws of motion and mainly this one
“for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”
I wouldn’t rule out Newton’s other two laws of motion either.
They can send the drone to Spar to pick up their breakfast rolls in the morning
Do guards have legs?
Target practice for my pellet gun
Provided everything is recorded, and everything monitored by a government appointed quango why not?
Wow I hope that’s sarcasm!
Why not, we’ll I voted no due to privacy, although I do see the benefits from a crime point of view, kind of spit with my opinion,
Spit with? Folks: never get close to Mick when he is offering opinions
Great. Then they’ll definitely never leave their desk.
They can see people dealing drugs in plain sight on and around o Connell street and do f all about it , so what are they going to do with drones exactly other than spy on people
There is more to ireland than one street. I dont know how many of the people on that street have been arrested but I’d imagine its most of them, The Judge hears their sad story and leaves them out. Back to square one.,
Air rifles at the ready…
The people of Ireland have voted yes for the use of drones. And the same people will bitch and moan if said drones overflies there house. Your all lambs to the slaughter. Surveillance state here we come.
David
It would be greatly appreciated if you did not include us “people of Ireland” who have warned, still warn and are willing to fight against the growing police state being inflicted on us like a plague in your “lamb” container
Thanks
Ok glen i wont include you in my statements anymore. Now you can go back to the playroom and play with your crayons.Thats after you pick up the toys you just threw out of your pram!!!!!
When reading these comments, replace the word “drone” with “a camera up high” in your mind and see how they sound then
Thanks David
It’s great to hear I will no longer be included in your blind ignorance !!
Very very true. They say drone but they should say. cctv at height.
Like pretty much every other CCTV then
I know your type school yard was a hard time for you!!’
Yes David it was !!
I have always had issues with authority figures trying to conform young minds to a certain way of thinking ! Difference is I noticed this at an early age.
Ha and you refer to others as “lambs” pot/kettle David.
For F@ck sake Glen, the growing police state. 1 or 2 drones used for public order incidents is hardly a growing police state! Did you forget the Guards aren’t even armed?
John
Having 0 drones to even 1 drone is growing or increasing if you like.
What’s with the language ? Sore head this morning?
Glen whats the difference with a helicopter with a camera and a drone with a camera? it will be used to keep track of public order incidents, for example football matches were hooligans are expected to cause trouble. I think you just like writing police state!
The difference between a helicopter and a drone is a helicopter is physically operated by a pilot and a drone is remotely operated. You should at least know the basics of a story before commenting.
Football hooligans yeah ok haha Ireland has an out of control football hooligan society in Johns world
Football hooligans hahaha you’re a funny guy.
That doesn’t really explain the difference between a Guard flying a helicopter to a Guard flying a drone. It’s still being used for the same thing?
Regards your comment about the football hooligans I did use it as and example but yeah what do these clips tell you.
Two groups of idiots throwing furniture
Exactly where does football hooligan come into it
I don’t even see a flag, scarf or jersey
I was going to write a long winded response to your comment. But i don’t need to. The day will come when you will need to stand up or in your case sit down. Just look at the world today do you really thing the Gardai drones will help you.
It’s was in the media at the time Glen, it’s Shamrock Rovers and Bohs Fans. Type into YouTube the above teams fight outside the hill 16 pub. The journal won’t let me post the link.
john bissett_ This is how you deal with an evasive drone at a crowd scenario.
Drone Knocked Down at Staples Center During LA Kings Stanley Cup Celebration
They haven’t even got the staff to drive the abundance of cars they have, never mind fly drones….
Yes absolutely, if they can be utilised effectively. I literally haven’t seen a Garda in months, and I don’t mean that in the new meaningless way people use literally!
If you go to a water meters installation you’ll see loads of guards, there was one down the road from me last week, I dropped down to take a look and sure enough the guards were there, I personally heard a water meter installer threaten a protester but the guard just ignored it, so even if the guards are there and a threat of violence is uttered they won’t interject, pretty pointless really.
We need •yes, sure, what could possibly go wrong?”.
The one in the picture is no good for covert surveillance, as it doesn’t fly high enough and can be heard from the ground. They send dogs into a frenzy. If the Gardai are serious about using drones for surveillance (covert, then they need to purchase the US predator version. If they do that they will need trained operators and I can already see either the Air Corp demanding they operate them or the Gardai demanding more pay for being trained and operating them.
Them again to really spook people out the Gardai my go with The Black Hornet.
Middle Class Cork, if you were walking down the street you would not hear one, neither would your dog.
Police state springs to mind.
Be a great way to intimidate whistle blowers.
Drone them out!!
Did I not hear somewhere that Denis O’ Brien owns a drone manufacturing plant ? They cost €750,000 each , have a lifespan of 3 months and are about as reliable as a Renault Laguna.
‘Intimidate whistleblowers’? How so?
Will drones be used at Irish Water protests for the purpose of identifying the activists and leaders at such protests and to target them?
Will drones be used to video and collect data on persons at public protest marches?
Will drones be used to carry out surveillance against left wing politicians?
Will the Garda helicopter be mothballed?
What does the ICCL think?
The Defence Forces already operate Israeli drones for surveillance.
They are used by infantry battalions, the ARW, for artillery spotting, etc and one was lost in Chad.
But so far as I know they have not been used “in aid of the civil power”.
It was inevitable ths Gardai would also look at getting drones. But what type?
They range from one fitting in the palm of your hand to, as someone mentioned, the Predator or Global Hawk which can cross the Atlantic or Pacific.
Hi Don, do you know what Israeli company manufactures those drones?
The Defence Forces bought two systems, each comprising 3 Orbiter UAVs, from then Aeronautics Defence Systems, for €780,000.
They are catapult launched, can fly up to 15,000 feet, carry day and night cameras, and are usually used to survey targets up to fifteen kilometres away.
Totally against it.
This has civil right violation written all over it!!!
It would not be right to give these devices to a police force that exists to keep the status quo in place, serving a government that is tyrannical.
Considering? There were drones at the mass water charges in town already.
Hulk Smash. The drone you saw wasn’t being flown by the Guards. It was actually a protester.
Jesus Christ do people in this country ever tire of getting hoodwinked into something negative on the false pretense of making it look good were the most easily manipulated country without a doubt ya tis a great idea untill 5 years later everyone is complaining about it. GroundHog day. Here’s an idea sort the feckin country out and crime would fall instead O having more civil liberties taking off us. Enough to make you immigrate I swear to god. Thick
Yes, I too wish the Gardai would just launch Operation Sort the Country Out instead of lazily trying to enforce laws and stuff
Guards already abuse the penalty points system. Drones would be abused too.
Sending a drone to ‘search’ a property must come under the law requiring a warrant. The wanton use of drones for general surveillance could be open to abuse.
I’d have no objection so long as there is verifiable transference as to the extent and purpose of their use.
So you have a warrant for google earth?
Silver Planet. No I don’t have a warrant for Google anything. What I have is a right to the privacy of my home and garden!
So you think all drones should be illegal then, surely? And the Gardai should need a warrant to use their helicopter? And google earth definitely has to go?
Why would anyone need a warrant from Google? You can’t fly around someone’s grounds on Google Earth in real time!
How do you think google get their footage? Why should they have powers the Gardai don’t?
Welcome to 1984.
The reality is there are more criminals (especially armed ones) then police, look at the newspapers and you see how more vile they are becoming attacking innocents on the streets and in their homes. If this helps to level the playing field in some way then why not? And before those of you (those who consider themselves law abiding) start complaining about privacy and all that, are your feelings of self importance so far up your hole in that you would think the police would use their limits resources just to see what you are doing?!
Micheal, all points 100% valid,
Yeh, because the police, unchecked would never do anything wrong….just ask Ian Bailey or Frank McBrearty, who were totally not stitched up for murder.
Unchecked surveillance will absolutely lead to intrusions into our lives, the law and order crowd are out in force today judging by that poll.
The difference is that the behaviour of Ian Bailey and Frank McBrearty made them genuine suspects (which they still are). They weren’t exactly everyday folk just minding their own business. And if those are the only two examples you can come up with, then I think it shows that they’re the exceptions that prove the rule.
The biggest riots here are at GAA matches,and seeing RTE televises them down to the last nano second,what do the gaurds need a drone for policing those?
Mike McAllen, they were just everyday folks minding their own business, but not anymore. If what you are saying is true, maybe you can explain why the number of wrongful convictions and deaths in police custody have been rising for the past twenty years ? That’s just in the UK and Ireland I’m talking about. I’m sure you have some lame excuse to tell us, if you put on your tin foil cap it may block out the truth.
People think they would be used at big events to monitor crowds, and they would, but more than likely what you would see them being used for like in America is to spot illegal dumping, kids skipping school, farmers breaking environmental laws, people burning the wrong coal, and of course as we saw with the NSA spying on wives, girlfriends, and stalking women they fancy.
If we had an honest and accountable Garda force which operated in the interests of the people they serve, I would still have a problem. As we don’t, a definite no.
HOW is YES winning this, I smell a rat on this, no-one in their right mind would want these things spying on us, Big Brother is air-bourne.
It the drones could pick up burgers and chips they’d never leave the station!
Donut share drones,
Supplied by Irish Water
As long as they let me use my own at protests, I would think it would be okay.
Who stopped you and under what pretext?
I would support them being blasted out of the sky
Used as evidence to see half a crime from a shadow down the street, very good then! I don’t mind street cameras but this is stalking!
They can peak into my back garden all they want, I’ll show their drone my own helicopter impression
its “pie in the sky” (sorry) stuff. They would certainly breach a few privacy laws in what and who they record. surprisingly we have some of the strictest and best cctv recording directive’s within the EU.
There is also the issue of who would operate them as the EU is looking at legislation in conjunction with numerous aviation authoritys on who can fly a drone.
Which laws? And is my neighbour breaching them when he uses his drone?
He is if he is flying it in a restricted air zone IE a residential area over 250 meters high or away from him or using it for commercial purposes…But like any laws in Ireland sounds good,means nothing as it is virtually unenforceable.
No. No. No. The Government and its appendages are already in a state of armed insurrection against the Irish people.
Really? I hadn’t noticed. Any chance it’s all in your twitching, paranoid, tinfoil-hatted head?
Mick McAllen, no one accused you of noticing anything and, what difference does it make to anyone else if you are blind to reality ? Not a jot.
Time to take out the catapults
we now need a crack squad, in the Garda Force, to deal with potentially dangerous situations, but as it is now, the whole force is being militarised, which isNOT a good move.
You hit the nail on the head Orla and that militarisation will continue.
There are enough drones in The Gadai already
Snorre, have of them seem to be on this page.
Next they will be using drones as speed camera’s……..
No, unless they’re going into the pizza delivery business.
Doubt there is a guard with the intelligence to use one.
Whenever travellers decide to inconvenience residents with illegal halting sites, drones would be less of an inconvenience than helicopters to keep an eye on them.
PULL !
No……
Only honest people worry about privacy issues,if you are not doing anything criminal,what is the big deal.you are not that important,in any case, you air your washing on social media.
we are humans, not robots
So Timbob,No problem with a drone parked 24/7 over your house,another outside your bedroom window?How about the Gaurds,revenue,,child protection services,Rumhana, dropping into your house at 3AM with no warrent,no proable cause,no reason at all really and going thru your private papers ,computor and book collection.Question your children without either your wife or you present on your sexual habits,your spending and alcoholic /drug habits.Take away any papers they fancy and give you no good reason for doing so?? No problem with any of that??You do??But then you MUST have something to hide!!!!
Timbo, good for you, I have no problem being able to open your mail, I like my privacy and I don’t like some gobsheen like you inferring that I may be doing something wrong. We need to watch the Gov. and the Garda’s
communications to make sure they are not up to any of their usual tricks, and of course we need to keep an eye on the likes of you. We could greatly reduce corruption and crime if the government was under more scrutiny, if you don’t mind these people reading your mail and spying on you, that’s your problem, the rest of us might think different.
they will end as a form of ‘flying revenue collector’….. a spy in the Sky
6% voted that they weren’t sure, why vote???
This government probably buy them from the U.S. Military – political complex from the U.S. and then find that we have a different voltage for the adapters of the U.S. models, lol.
No, NO Absolutely NO, I don’t, and you all shouldn’t trust your Privacy to the Garda, This is just one more step toward the State being able to monitor your every move! Its naive to think that when these toys are there they wont be misused because they will on a regular basis, Next they’ll be using the threat of terrorism to permit them to curtail your freedom more, America do that don’t they? where do you draw the line? how far is a step too far? for me either your free or your not, taking your Privacy, Next they’ll be taking most of your wages to pay for it, Ooooh that’s right they already do that!
They’re basically moving CCTV. I see no problem with it.
Probably end up being a threat to aircraft?
I’d be surprised if some of them could use one, ” How do you use that thing ” ” ah tis the same as flying on those RC helicopter yokes.
I like to play with my wife in the day light. Have to invest in better curtains…
I have no confidence in the Garda as is at the moment and quite frankly I don’t believe they are mature enough to use this tech without abusing it. I would have no problem if it was used by a competent professional police force with severe guidelines in place for the deployment of this, such as only be used to tail suspected gangland criminals and terrorists or tasked to reported major crime locations, but this tech is way too open abuse and quite frankly I just don’t trust the Gardai with it.
From what I understand, the Gardai presently own drones and have been used in several operations so far.
Rory the DJ? How are ya bud?
FFS!!!! THEY ARE DRONES WITH LEGS, ARMS, BUT NO BRAINS!!!!!
The Gardai would not have the ability to operate them and you can be sure accidents will happen and it will be the usual story “I didn’t know”. They have only basic training and that’s not their fault
Yes. It’s cruel for there asses to support there weight.
Yep I’d have no problem with it. If you’re not breaking the law you have nothing to hide.
Maybe we could hire enough new guards to replace those that are retiring or resigning? You know worry about the basics before dealing with luxuries like spy drones.
Yes, I would be in favor of their use but with legislation in place to protect the people. Some people here are thinking that they’d be used to spy on them. In reality, you’re just not that important/exciting. I imagine their use would be limited to operations including protests, search & seizure, and pursuing fleeing suspects. They could also be used at festivals to curb anti-social behaviour and violent crimes such as assault and rape. They would be able to relay real-time information to feet on the street. They’re also more economical and faster response than the Garda helicopter. I doubt they’d be in use for surveillance as they’d be too noisy.
Everybody seems to think about the negatives, but if you take one second to think about the positives, you’d agree that this is a good investment. I know there’s problems in our judicial courts and that has to be sorted but instead of sorting that first, why not do both? Are we not capable of multitasking?
Mark Bannon, I had the pleasure of assembling two of these machines last year, electric motors, they are almost silent, even cats and dogs could not detect them unless they were very close, at a height of 30 Ft. you wont notice them. The police and state already have too much power, no point in encouraging them to new heights of oppression. BTW, why are you misleading people about them, do you work for the Garda or some lot that can see a profit selling these things ?
I didn’t realise they could be so silent Gerard. i was basing my judgement on a remote control helicopter that was bought as a present. What power do you think the Gardaí have? Do you think that once they don the badge on them, they become a different person? How will the inclusion of quadrotors be oppressive?
No, I don’t work for the Gardaí or state or the drone developers or anything associated with them. However, I’m being open minded about their inclusion in the Gardaí. So why are you misleading people about them? Do you really think that some Garda is going to use his quadrotor to watch Mrs Murphy hang out the washing?
Mark Bannon, once they don the badge they become part of the largest organised criminal gang in the country, and will do anything to protect each other from justice.
Gerard,
You’re so very naive to think that. You should go ahead and say that to them when your house gets broken into, or you’ve been assaulted. You should tell the criminals about the criminals and see who helps you. If you’ve ever required the assistance of a Garda, you’d know that they’re there to help
Mark Bannon, you are being incredibly naïve, there are people in this country that are not allowed report a crime against themselves, because the ombudsman is so ineffective the problem is snowballing every year. The Garda has literally got away with murder at times.
http://youtu.be/5GJdxegjtM8
This type of abuse is endemic in Ireland, promoting a police state will help the people of this country..
So you’re saying that every Gard is a corrupt criminal? Such a sad outlook on life. I have many times required the assistance of our Gardaí, as has my family, and my friends. They have always been there. Cases such as Joe Doocey might be true, they might be fabricated, but they’re isolated cases. From your experience, what have the Gardaí ever done to you? Have you been at their mercy or are you just following whatever other people say just so you can have a go at them?
What are your solutions to the problem? No point in saying there’s something wrong without giving a solution! And if we were really in a police state, they’d be armed to the teeth, using fear and violence with frequently occurring deaths of the populace.
Mark Bannon, much experience of their trickery and despotism, I have met guards that appear to be good people, I have also met the evil ones, the ones that seem decent will still protect the evil ones.
The guards are paid to protect people, you imply this is something surplus to their job, it is in fact their extrajudicial actions that are surplus.
Your implication that such behaviour is unusual is pedantic, it is par for the course, always has been, no one else is in a position to cover up corruption, they are in a position not to take and act on complaints, not to enter them in the day book. For evil to prosper it only takes a few good people to ignore the misconduct and criminal acts of their bubby’s.
Nothing short of a new system of government and a new justice system will solve this problem, I don’t believe a new police force can be formed from the garda, the culture of ignoring and protecting the evil ones is too ingrained.
I won’t ask what your solution would be, you seem to be happy with the injustices and the corrupt status quo that exists with gards, justice system and the government.
PS Mark, don’t even suggest the garda ombudsman unless you have been there, many people that dare complain about the police face a lifetime of stalking and harassment.
It sounds like you might be referring to an incident that you encountered yourself. I’m not here to make assumptions or pass judgement on you. What I can say is that myself and the majority of the people of this country are pleased with the work that the Gardaí do. Are they perfect? No. But you show me a perfect police force anywhere in the world and I’ll praise them instead. Don’t get me wrong, there are bad ones out there. But, there are many more great ones than them.
The work that they do is the exactly that, only the work that they do. We thank the bus driver even though he’s only doing his job, even if we’re being overcharged or if we’re late. Tell me something, have you ever went out of your way to do something better in your job without extra incentives being thrown at you? Has your job ever required you to put yourself in harms way?
Your solution is insane and expensive. I’d be willing to bet that you’d be one of the first people to complain about the expenses required to form a new police force. I wouldn’t mind harsher judges and sentences but those sentences are not dependant on the Garda, that’s all down to the judges and solicitors. I was in a taxi once that was attacked by a lad with a samurai sword. Luckily, nobody was injured with some damage done to the taxi. When it went to courts, the lad was only fined even though he was drunk and brandishing a lethal weapon with intent to hurt or maim someone. Gardaí arrived on scene within less than 5 minutes, did their task of apprehending the guy and did a good job too. One minor adjustment I’d make to the Gardaí is to have more of them.
Mark, the price of the Quangos to Ireland is €13 Billion a year, assuring a police force free of political bias and corruption would be cheap compared to this. No police force can serve two masters, any advancement in technology should be used to keep track of the Government and its agencies to protect the people of the nation.
We would all love to have a society where there is no elite hijacking the resources of the country in order to subvert democracy.
Mark Bannon, I would prefer to see more Garda on the street than new gadget, I do appreciate the job the Garda do. It is my belief that the powers that be encourage the promotion of the evil ones that will do anything to promote the state.
I don’t see an issue with drones, you would be surprised of the quality and accuracy of satellite pictures, and is either a drone or a human risking his life. I think as long as they use it in a sensible way for key missions is ok. But not as an everyday tool, the last thing we want is to see these drones flying in our housing estates.
Give them nothing, this is just on instance of their abuse of Irish people.
http://youtu.be/5GJdxegjtM8
So pigs will fly then?, (joke)
ZANO in action: http://youtu.be/hgkbhjXTbOE….. I pledged for one of these on kickstarter, it’ll be ready for delivery in June, can’t wait. :-)
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