Surveillance concerns rise over Bryan County’s new use of drones during traffic stops

Just because you can’t see them when you pull onto the roadway, doesn’t mean you’re safe. Drones operated by Bryan County Sheriff’s Office are watching and looking for traffic violations.

Sheriff deputies say their fleet of drones are primarily utilized to catch people driving without seatbelts or using an electronic device while at the wheel.

But the new tool has sparked concern about how surveillance data collected passively by local law enforcement could violate the right to privacy or potentially be used for harm.

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a… drone?

While the office has been using drones for two and a half years, it’s only been implementing them into its traffic team since April. The expansion, according to Bryan County Sheriff Department spokeswoman Candace Hunnicut, is the office’s way of utilizing its two drones…

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