By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Is the Border Patrol’s use of drone worth the money? It’s a question raised and explored by a lengthy story in the Arizona Republic. The newspaper found that drones helped nab less than 3% of the drugs seized by agent over the past two fiscal years. By comparison, look at the…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The FBI drone program isn’t very far-reaching. According to a newly released report from the Justice Department’s Inspector General, the FBI has 17 working drones and just two pilots, The Verge reports. The report found that the drones operate out of one location, making it difficult to use the flying cameras…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The Secret Service is testing drones in an effort to determine what to do when a rogue one is flying over head, The Associated Press reports. During the next several weeks, the Secret Service will send drones over Washington D.C. The sessions come a little more than a month after a…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Secret Service is planning to hold drone exercises in the Washington D.C. area over the next few weeks, Bloomberg reports. The agency said in a statement Tuesday that it plans “a series of exercises involving unmanned aircraft systems” in the restricted airspace of Washington. Secret Service declined further comment. The meeting…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The recent discovery of a drone carrying methamphetamine near the U.S. border in Mexico has raised some eyebrows. But the DEA said drones will not become tomorrow’s drug mules because they are not cost-effective, the Los Angeles Times reports. “This method will only allow a small amount of drugs to be…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Drones have long been criticized by privacy advocates as an overreach of law enforcement. Turns out, they’re also wildly expensive to operate, according to a report by the Inspector General, The Washington Post writes. CBP spent at least $62.5 million on drones – or about $12,255 per (flight) mile. That is five…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com High-flying drones have been spotted near airports and bridges in New York, prompting the FBI and Federal Aviation Administration to investigate, CBS Local reports. The drones were spotted by three pilots near commercial aircraft approaching John F. Kennedy International Airport. A helicopter pilot spotted two more drones near LaGuardia Airport The…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com When is the government authorized to use drones to kill U.S. Citizens overseas? The Justice Department, which has resisted the release of the information, said Tuesday it won’t block the release of a secret drone memo, the USA Today reports. That decision was made easier because the memo’s author, former Justice Department…
