| NEWS | Eyes in the Sky The city of Phoenix will fly new drones to get the best view of Piestewa Peak — and you too. BY KATYA SCHWENK I f you’re hiking along a hot and dusty trail this summer and spy a drone in the sky, it could be the Phoenix Fire Department responding from aloft to a crisis on the mountain. On June 1, the city of Phoenix will launch a new drone program, which will first outfit fire mountain rescue crews with the technology, and then expand to other departments — including the Phoenix police. Fire officials say the drones are a breakthrough technology for their operations, giving firefighters a way to scope out a dangerous scene from afar. Hundreds get stranded every year. But the use of the tech for public safety is likely to raise serious questions of privacy and surveillance in the coming months, particularly once it falls into the hands of Phoenix cops. And that is the plan, officials say, although the expansion of the technology beyond the fire department is still subject to city council approval. “We think [the opportunities are] unlimited, how much these drones are going to help us,” said Phoenix Fire Captain Rob McDade. McDade points to important uses for the fire department: Drones could fly over a warehouse fire, identifying a sagging roof or hotspots. And drones could make the department’s arduous mountain rescues more efficient, allowing firefighters to find a distressed hiker trapped when it’s hotter than 110 degrees out. Drone use in public safety operations is becoming commonplace. Phoenix police, for instance, will join hundreds of law enforcement agencies around the country that deploy the devices. Critics warn, though, that at times, police use of drones has gone beyond their intended purpose. They cite, for instance, drones being equipped with artificial intelligence, purporting to identify crime on their own, or flying with weapons atached. “They are capable of highly advanced and near-constant surveillance,” according to one policy brief by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy rights group. So Phoenix police’s own rollout of the tech is likely to face some scrutiny, particularly given that the department is under investigation for a civil rights track record critics call spotty. Phoenix police plan to roll out the new technology during the third phase of the city’s overarching drone program, on track to launch by the end of this year. Police are in line for drones after the city’s fire, parks, water departments. The police department’s own plans for the technology currently are murky. Officials are drafting operating guidelines and rules regarding privacy that will eventually be made public. And, for now, all questions about the drone program have been deferred to the fire department, said Ann Justus, spokesperson for Phoenix police. At a recent council committee meeting , fire officials laid out their vision for the program. It’s hardly a surprise that the city has chosen to debut the powerful tech with its fire department, given the scrutiny that will likely come with the tech’s debut with the police. Lori Bays, assistant city manager, acknowledged that the police drone program is “probably going to have Kristen Mosbrucker the most need for community input.” “Everybody likes fire,” as McDade himself put it. “We’re the good guys, right?” But Carlos Garcia, a council member who represents downtown and east Phoenix, said he was concerned by the structure of the program, which relied on blanket approval of the drones across the city departments. “Why is this [topic] coming up this way?” Garcia asked at a recent briefing. Given that the police department had little information so far on their use of the technology, he requested a separate vote. “It seems a little hard for us to make this decision and then just assume that something’s going to happen,” he said. Garcia declined interview requests for this story. Officials compromised, approving the first phase of the program unanimously. City officials promised to return later with more information about the police department’s plan in the coming months. In his conversation with Phoenix New Times, McDade declined to explain the police department’s involvement in developing the program. But officials do say that firefighters will be the first to receive drones in part due to the strain the Drones are prohibited inside the Phoenix Mountains Preserve, according to a Phoenix ordinance. department is facing. Just last year, Phoenix firefighters responded to 246 calls for help within city limits for those stuck in the mountains. Most of those mountain rescue efforts are on the city’s most treacherous summits, such as Camelback Mountain and Piestewa Peak. That figure doesn’t include other mountain rescue efforts in other cities across Maricopa County, McDade said. Those cities often call on Phoenix firefighters for assistance. Each year, more people need to be rescued while hiking in the heat. Complicating the effort: not enough fire department employees and more severe wildfires. Last year, the fire season was unusually intense, the department says, requiring more resources and employees. And drones are a relatively cheap alternative to shore up resources. They cost a fraction of existing technology, such as helicopters or trucks. Drones cost upward of $2,000 and can perform many of the same functions. >> p 13 11 phoenixnewtimes.com | CONTENTS | FEEDBACK | OPINION | NEWS | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | PHOENIX NEW TIMES FEB 3RD– FEB 9TH, 2022
