Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Caribbean
CaribbeanNewsWorld

As Jamaica Prepares to Begin Using Drones to Fight Crime, Concerns Emerge Over Human Rights

Posted byBy Yanique Dawkins | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Untitled4As Jamaica gets ready to use drone technology in its crime fighting, the United States has announced new guidelines governing the use of the technology that could influence Jamaica’s approach.

Last week, the Jamaica Constabulary Force outlined its timetable for the use of the unmanned aerial vehicles in crime hotspots such as St. James.

However, already local human rights advocates have noted that there is need for regulations to ensure that the constitutional rights of Jamaicans are not breached.

Yesterday, US President Barack Obama called for more stringent rules on privacy and drone use. The White House issued a presidential memorandum stating that drones should not be used to illegally gather or share private data. It said laws regulating drone use should be evaluated every three years, to ensure that protections and policies keep pace with developments.

Civilian drone use has recently surged in popularity, presenting new regulatory challenges.

Drones are usually deployed for military and special operation applications, but are also used in a small but growing number of civil applications, such as policing and firefighting.

Source: Jamaica Gleaner

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top