Feeling Like You’re being watched Lately? Yes, You Are!

Town of Paradise Valley, AZ—If you don’t like cameras pointed at you, you'd better learn to smile.  They are here to stay watching, documenting and exposing all of your public behavior to the world.

With the new consumer camera drone technology the camera shy folks are in paranoia overdrive.  These people seem to have forgotten that cameras are watching them 24/7 everywhere.

From the time you leave your front door until you return cameras are constantly watching you.  Some you can see and there are many others you can’t.

For example if you enter the Town of Paradise Valley, Arizona in a vehicle a camera concealed in a cactus grabs the license plate number. It’s placed in a searchable database that allows the town government to know each vehicle’s exact movements. 

There are live cameras capturing and saving video everywhere.  Some store video for a short time others keep video indefinitely only limited by the size of their hard drives.

From the time you enter retail stores and their parking lots until leave there is a full video record all of your visit.  

Your neighbor’s home security cameras are easily pointed at your driveway documenting your activities.  Those cameras can be both overtly visible or covert and unseen. 

The reality is that if you’re in a place outside your own home that can be seen and photographed from any angle. Your backyard swimming pool is no sacred refuge.  

Satellites, fixed wing airplanes and occasionally helicopters, are constantly photographing the outside of your home from the sky. 

When I investigate crimes I make every effort to look for and ask about surveillance cameras.  You can nearly always find cameras that have captured at least a portion of most serious crimes.  Of course I must get to the camera’s owner before the hard drive begins to record over the earlier video.

Today you can’t watch a local news broadcast on TV without seeing samples of this video.  Remember you only see the crappy video where the characters are not readily identified. 

There is hardly a murder case anymore where clear video does not become evidence that prosecutors can use either to coerce a plea deal or enter at a trial. 

If you've picked your nose in public I promise you that some camera has captured that image.

Right now there are millions of illicit cameras in hotels, motels apartment building’s bath and shower rooms.  Today the infamous character Norman Bates from the film “Psycho” would be watching his undressed guests in high definition on large monitors or on his smartphone screen. 

Speaking of smartphones, we all now have high definition video cameras in our pockets!  At the first sign of something unusual happening the cameras are out of the pockets!  There is no escape from the unblinking camera lenses! 

Sorry folks the Genie is long out of the bottle and like it or not, you’re on candid camera.

As for the little consumer drones that may occasionally fly over your home are really inconsequential when you look at the big picture.  

The Civilian Drone Industry and the Serious Impact of Government Tyrannical Overregulation

Los Angeles, CA—As Crimefile News prepares to cover the first ever Drone Expo here on Saturday, we are watching as more corporate and business refugees are fleeing this once great nation.  Americans are also renouncing their citizenship now, more than ever before.

Currently drone hobbyists have no licensing or training requirements to fly their drones.  The only FAA restrictions currently are in the form of somewhat vague “guidelines”.  They suggest maximum altitudes of 400 feet, staying three miles or more from airports and keeping visual contact with the drone.

Frankly the hobbyists have already proven that civilian drones really pose no threat to Americans, their safety or privacy. 

The only hard and fast enforceable civilian drone regulation is that they can’t be used to earn or generate money.  Of course the government can’t realize any income tax revenue from drone operators either. 

Civilian multi-rotor drones currently number well beyond one million.  So far none of them have been ever been involved in a death or reported serious injury. 

Frankly the drones are incredibly safer than conventional aircraft, don’t emit poisons into our air and should they crash damages are minimal and confined to the drones themselves.

Yes, there are the “reports” by conventional aircraft pilots of “near collisions” and dangerous behavior.  However suspiciously absent are any collisions, photographs, or actual identifications of any of these offending drone operators! I call them fantasy sightings.   

The over-abundant reports of cowboy drone operators ruining it for all are just more fabrications.  The fact is drone operators zealously protect their investments if for no other reason so they can continue to enjoy flying them.

I won’t personally speak for anything more than the relatively small multi-rotor craft carrying camera’s such as the GoPro or relatively light weight DSLR cameras similar to the Canon 5D or the Panasonic GH4. 

No matter how you feel about your own political preferences this issue is falling hard along political Party lines.  Republicans are responding as pro-business and commerce. 

Democrats on the other hand want to regulate, tax and punish any and all commercial productivity especially anything drone related.  That’s of course, if the political Left can’t simply ban them altogether.  United States Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) is leading the way for a total civilian drone ban as I write this. 

Democrats like their Communist cousins have a long history of massive overregulation, extortionate taxation and restricting personal liberty despite our Bill of Rights.  

I will again redundantly argue that nearly all safety concerns are bogus since the multi-rotor drone record is stellar.

Additionally, existing privacy laws don’t insulate any drone operators from arrest or punishment should they engage in stalking or filming anywhere people have established rights to privacy.

The FAA’s foot-dragging and drone related kingdom building has had expected results.   American corporations, filmmakers and drone enthusiasts are rapidly voting with their feet to exit the USA.   

Helicopter operators currently have nearly unrestricted access to our populated cities for filming or newsgathering.  However not a year goes by with out deadly crashes costing millions in destruction.  Multi-rotor drones are significantly safer, quieter and greener

Drones are a marvelous tool for video newsgathering, filmmaking and other creative endeavors.  The First Amendment of our Bill of Rights protects those things!  Restricting these activities without a clear thereat to public safety is un-American and unlawful.  We fought wars to protect this important freedom!

The drone industry shows great promise in areas of farming and cattle ranching protecting our necessary food supply.  Livestock and irrigation need constant monitoring and drones are perfect for this role.

The necessary inspection of ecological properties like fresh water supplies, electrical and fuel lines can be accomplished much cheaper and certainly safer using drones.

With the drone industry exit, America stands to lose important intellectual property, technological and other discoveries that are vitally essential to our national defense.  

Drones are the future for the construction and insurance industry.  They also have a solid place in disaster operations to evaluate needs and delivery of food, water and medical supplies when our roads become impassable.

The Obama Administration and their FAA must step aside and allow the research, development and commercial use of drones. 

Should problems be discovered down the road, government can certainly address them.  America has up till now avoided governing by prior restraint.

The American people simply cannot afford to allow a handful of politicians and their appointed bureaucrats to continue their tyrannical governing direction over this vital technology.  

Interesting Statistics Regarding the Little Camera Drones and Safety

Los Angeles, CA –Nearly everywhere there are some frightened members of Congress, various state legislatures and city councils that are considering ways to ban or severely regulate the little multi-rotor camera drones. 

Must we always adopt the Chicken Little fear that the sky is falling?

The FAA would like to expand their budget and manpower by at least tenfold or more to regulate every 12 year-old boy with a camera drone in America.  Can the FAA be trusted to not create or engage hysteria when they have so much to gain?  We all know the answer to that!

Pilots everywhere, especially those flying helicopters see the very clear handwriting on the wall.  Inexpensive and substantially safer drones will soon replace half of them. Careers are at stake here.  Should we be surprised those pilots are making the most noise condemning camera drone?  

Fighting camera and delivery drones through propaganda scare tactics is already in high gear.  We must educate politicians, business leaders, media and the public on the real facts. 

We now know that worldwide there are over a million little drones in the hands of the public.  That’s double the amount of all conventional aircraft. 

We know all too well that many millions of dollars and hundreds of lives are lost every year from conventional aircraft mishaps.

To date there has not been a single fatality or serious injury related to multi-rotor camera drones. 

I’d like to address Internet chatter from the camera drone user groups.  There are hundreds of passages exclaim that newbies, cowboys and lawless people are reeking havoc in the skies.  My favorite quote is, “They’re ruining it for everyone!” It that were the truth there would be collisions and at least some minimal evidence of this kind of conduct. 

What exists are tales including one claim by a NYPD helicopter pilot that he clocked the little drones at the speed of sound!  Considering they have a top speed of 35 MPH that's somewhat pitiful.

These camera drones all have the ultimate Black Box, that's the camera's memory chip that contains the video of the flight.  I submit that the drone's own video is more reliable than the fables and outright lies that have been told by some public officials.  

It’s a natural human condition to conjure up scenarios in our minds of bad behavior and tragic consequences.  What we must always remember here is even the cheaper camera drones are not really cheap. 

These drones are carefully guarded and cared for by their owners that don’t want to lose them to mishaps or impoundment by police.  

Drone operators all fly with friends and they are always advising each other on avoiding mistakes, piloting tips and proper etiquettes. They are in effect self-policing and regulating.    

The FAA, except for commercial use, does not now regulate the little drones.  The FAA had banned them from commercial use however that prohibition was struck down by a federal judge and is currently under appeal. 

The FAA is charged with safety and the drones have proven they do not compromise safety.  To date there has never been a known collision between a camera-drone and any conventional aircraft.

These days we hear sensational propaganda stories of near misses with planes and helicopters on a regular basis.   Add to that bogus claims that these drones somehow invade privacy have many Americans frightened, concerned and upset.

Satellites, surveillance, and cameras carried by helicopters have already stolen any privacy invasion thunder of the little drones.  Don’t forget the millions of cell-phone cameras that are in everyone’s pockets.  Cameras are here and the courts have consistently held that the First Amendment protects them.

If you don’t want to be photographed, put on your Foster Grants (sunglasses for those too young to remember that brand) and stay indoors.

If you own or lease property you can’t stop the prying eyes of aerial cameras.  Barbara Streisand found that out the hard way a few years back when a helicopter carrying a photographer snapped some pictures of her and her Malibu fortress and posted them on the Internet.  She immediately sued in court.  Not only did the singer loose but she had to pay more than a quarter million dollars to the hapless photographer.

Laws violating any portion of the Bill of Rights never stand a chance when challenged in court.  Shooting video from a camera drone over private or public property is absolutely constitutionally protected activity.   

Local bans are incredibly problematic in that tourists with drones will be ignorant of laws and even geography where its difficult to determine what jurisdiction where they are located.

Do we really want to jail and mark these people with lifelong criminal records for snapping a few pictures of our prettier parks, beaches, cities and villages?

The news media and filmmakers have already been using these things for image gathering over the more dangerous and excessively expensive helicopters.  They certainly have First Amendment rights needing protection.  

Insurance adjusters, real estate marketing and our farmers desperately need this technology for obvious reasons.  Arn't our grocery, insurance and housing cost high enough? 

If they are compelled to make rules here perhaps two current FAA guidelines are worthy of adoption.  Flying below 400 feet and avoiding airspace within five miles of an airport without control tower approval seems workable. 

Below you will find the estimated number of aircraft and helicopters worldwide:

  312,000     Active General Aviation Aircraft

  17,770     Passenger Aircraft

  89,129     Military Aircraft

  26,500     Civil Helicopters

  29,700     Military Helicopters.

According to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association there are approximately 312,000 active general aviation aircraft worldwide.

General aviation (GA) is defined as all aviation other than scheduled commercial airlines and military aviation.

Over 312,000 general aviation aircraft including helicopters,

single-engine piston-powered airplanes, multi-engine turboprops, and intercontinental business jets are flying throughout the world.

Information provided by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association:

http://www.gama.aero/aboutGAMA/industryFacts.phpThe General Aviation

My Camera Armed Drones and Your Privacy

Phantom 2 Quadcopter

Los Angeles, CA—There is a bit of a debate going on involving one of technology’s newer gifts.  The somewhat inexpensive, Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) drones are here.  Are they really a threat to your privacy?  I have the answer for you.

As most of my readers know, I’m a licensed private investigator.  I now have my own Air Force consisting of two consumer type camera-armed drones!  Can these gee wiz gizmos help me learn more about the people I’m investigating?  The answer is, not really.

First of all the devices are limited significantly by their power sources.  They are battery operated.  The longest they can stay in the air currently is under 25 minutes. 

They may be quiet but are visible especially at night because of their running lights.  The lights must stay on or the pilot can’t see or control it.  

For surveillance they are worthless because of the short flight time.  Traditional means of watching people are still more effective. 

If a person I’m investigating enters a vehicle I can only follow the vehicle for less than a mile under the best of conditions.  Tall buildings, power lines, lamp posts and trees all threaten my drones. 

Rain and wind are not friendly to my drones and I have no desire to risk seeing them destroyed. 

I’ve stayed awake nights trying to figure out ways of using the UAS to further my investigations.  I’ve found a couple that really don’t threaten privacy. 

Frequently I need high-resolution aerial images of accident or crime scenes to use during interviews and for court exhibits.  The drones are absolutely excellent for this purpose.

Locating stolen property or livestock has suddenly become easier.  Before I’d have to hire aircraft and pilots to look at property from the air to avoid allegations of trespass.  Now I can do the same thing but without spending a fortune with my drones.

Some could argue drones can be used to look through windows but so can any helicopter.  That is really not practical because of limitations on cameras in difficult lighting conditions.  My little drones are incapable of gathering audio because of issues like wind and the sound of the rotors. 

The affordable drones can’t handle the much heavier and sophisticated cameras and night vision equipment or spotlights like helicopters.  My cameras are the tiny and featherweight GoPro Hero 3+ that provides stunning images.

The only mischief I could really get involved with are nude sunbathers in their back yards that could be observed and photographed.  That’s been the case with helicopters since their invention.  That’s been an issue for Hollywood’s starlets for decades.  I have to ask have some of those pictures and resulting publicity furthered their careers? 

In the future I’m sure that the technology and capability of the drones will evolve in the future but we’re talking years and decades. 

The fact is that Americans have privacy rights provided they stay in places like inside their homes and businesses where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy.  My drones can’t see you while you’re in your bathtub or bed. 

I also plan to use these drones for newsgathering purposes.  Active accident, fire and crime scenes where helicopters are unavailable are going to be my drone targets.  We all know how helpful aerial views are for TV news video.   The problem is having this kind of event at a convenient distance. 

I challenge any of my visitors to figure out a way to invade privacy that would actually justify concerns.

  

The New York Journal is Endangering The Innocent By Publishing Gun Owner Data

Yep, I'm a gun owner standing here with a loaded S&W .44 Magnum.  I must ask," Do ya feel lucky punk?  Well do ya?" 

Phoenix, AZ—I personally wrote no less that 14 bills to legalize the carrying of concealed weapons in Arizona.  There was one bill for every year until it finally passed.   I relentlessly lobbied the Arizona Legislature along with Landis Aden from the Arizona State Rifle Association.  It was a long and challenging battle. 

I can remember the stiff opposition from even the Republican leadership.  The late Senator Jackie Steiner emotionally warned me, “Your bill will bring shootouts to every traffic accident in Arizona!”  I quietly informed the good Senator that Arizona law already allowed people to keep loaded guns in their automobile glove compartments.  Steiner vowed to do something about that but thankfully never followed up on the threat. 

I did not write the final bill that passed but it contained 90% of what I included in prior bills.  They left out just one important thing I always added.  That was a measure to prevent the release of permit information except to criminal justice agencies.

When the bill sans the data protection aspect was heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee I quickly testified that any hit man, rapist or burglar could access the data as a public record to prepare for a deadly crime.  The committee saw the light and the final bill was amended to include the data protection and was passed and became law.

As each state enacted Right to Carry legislation many of them omitted the data protection and news reporters published this sensitive personal data.   Soon states took steps to protect these databases for obvious reasons.

Now in a move to embarrass, enrage and endanger gun owners the New York Journal published the entire gun owner database complete with a map to their homes.  Of course the data could be accessed just as the Journal did, but this news organization simply chose to enable and facilitate the criminal predators in the community.  Most common thugs are simply not clever enough to make a Freedom of Information request to government agencies.

Along the way the New York Journal also provided rapists, burglars and killers with a method to determine if their intended victims were unarmed and defenseless.  This reckless action by the New York Journal opens the door to serious unintended consequences. 

Politicians that hate gun rights like the idea of public accessible gun registration databases.  They want to see all gun owners marked with a scarlet letter.   However that scarlet letter tells the cowardly criminals to move on.  Those without the scarlet letter have become the endangered ones.