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October 27, 2015 - 8:30 AM
KAMLOOPS - If you’ve recently acquired a quadcopter or unmanned aerial vehicle armed with a video camera attached, bear in mind, flying it in populated areas can have some unforeseen legal consequences.
Amateur drone videos of Kamloops are starting to pop-up online and while the intent is likely just to record a picturesque video, law enforcement officials are keeping an eye on the criminal element and privacy issues.
Kamloops RCMP Supt. Brad Mueller says police have concerns, and reports of members of the public using the UAVs have come up on a few occasions. While he says some may be using the devices for a nefarious purpose, most people are simply ignorant to privacy violations.
“Certainly it is becoming a concern for a number of reasons. There’s privacy concerns and safety concerns,” he says, pointing to the recent issue with drones flying over forest fires and getting in the way of water bombers and helicopters.
“I would say there is a small percentage (of people) using them for inproper purposes. I can’t say the number of calls, but it has come up on a few occasions. I think part of the process is the education of it,” Mueller says.
The City of Kamloops community safety and enforcement manager Jon Wilson says while drones remain a concern for members of the public, there aren’t enough complaints yet to warrant changing bylaws.
“We’ve had maybe one complaint about drones. Generally people are concerned about invasion of privacy. There isn’t necessarily something in the bylaws to address it at this time,” he says. “Until we start seeing a greater demand for regulation around it then we’ll address it. Changing regulations is public driven."
To contact a reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015