Militarization of the police has been an issue at the forefront of national headlines, and St. Louis is no exception. Today, a group launched that seeks to reduce that militarization by keeping drones out of police hands. The Peace Economy Project is just one member involved in this effort.
Drone Free St. Louis (DroneFreeStL) is a coalition of groups and individuals who resist the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, by the St. Louis Police Department. We also want to ensure that people are protected from the privacy abuses that may result from other government or private use of drones.
DroneFreeStL wants to promote individual and collective freedom by:
- Stopping the advent of a new era of mass surveillance, which threatens to monitor behavior 24/7 and thereby limit free thought and expression.
- Opposing the militarization of the police and the city’s part in furthering the military-industrial complex.
- Ensuring that the St. Louis Police Department and the city of St. Louis allocate resources to improve lives, especially for underserved populations, rather than for technology that will most likely be used against those same communities.
- Guaranteeing that there be adequate privacy and safety regulations in place, if such regulations are indeed possible, before consideration of any domestic use of drones for non-policing purposes.
To learn more about Drone Free STL, check out the website. You can also follow them on twitter and like them on Facebook.
