Use of Drones - Guidelines for Municipal Police Services

Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Use of Drones – Guidelines for Municipal Police Services. Effective 3 Oct. 2023. 1 Use of Drones - Guidelines for Municipal Police Services Introduction Drones, an aircraft without a pilot (sometimes called an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)), are a technology launched into the air that can be used for a variety of purposes. Police services in Canada already use drones to assist in their work. Since drones can potentially be used to conduct surveillance, many privacy concerns exist regarding their use. Municipal police services in Saskatchewan are subject to The Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (LA FOIP). This resource is meant to provide guidance to police services on their use of drone technology. I. Before Implementing the Use of Drones Some considerations for a police service before implementing the use of drones is to determine: • Is the use of drones lawful. • Is the use of drones necessary. • Are there any stakeholders that should be consulted. Is the Use of Drones Lawful As local authorities, municipal police services must only collect personal information in accordance with section 24 of LA FOIP. Section 24 of LA FOIP provides: 24 No local authority shall collect personal information unless the information is collected for a purpose that relates to an existing or proposed program or activity of the local authority. Municipal police services cannot collect personal information for an undefined purpose. Municipal police services must determine if the purpose for collecting personal information via drone technology relates to an existing proposed program or activity of the local authority. If so, municipal police services must also ensure it has authority pursuant to sections 27 and 28 of LA FOIP to use and/or disclose any personal information it has collected.

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