Ventura Co, CA Sheriff expects to get FAA approval for drones within weeks

◼ With the county of Ventura as the lead agency, a coalition of local government entities, businesses and universities has formed the Southern California Unmanned Systems Alliance in the hope of becoming one of six national test sites that the FAA is expected to designate before the year is out. - VC Star

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office expects within weeks to be granted FAA approval to become among the first law enforcement agencies in the nation to test and operate an unmanned aircraft that could be deployed in search-and-rescue operations and in other emergencies.

A three-day conference sponsored by the nation’s leading aeronautics industry organization will open Tuesday in Westlake Village, featuring industry experts, a keynote speech from California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and a tour of naval facilities at Point Mugu, where the Navy intends to soon locate four Triton Unmanned Aircraft Systems to provide national defense surveillance over the open seas....

Advocates see the advent of drones for commercial and civilian uses as an opportunity for Southern California to reclaim its standing as the center of the aerospace industry, potentially re-creating some of the thousands of high-wage manufacturing jobs that disappeared with defense industry rollbacks after the end of the Cold War.

“I want to create a hub for innovative jobs in Ventura County and Southern California,” said Gorell. “I want to keep the manufacturing jobs here — the middle-class jobs that won’t stay here unless we act.”

...Advocates for the commercial drone industry know there is a huge impediment to technological progress — public concerns about intrusions into their privacy and public anxiety to drones being used as military killing machines.

Those large, weaponized drones, with ominous names such as “Predator,” “Reaper” and “Sky Warrior,” bear little resemblance to the small, lightweight models proposed for commercial use, but the image is hard to shake....

Dean envisions using it to assist deputies during backcountry search-and-rescue operations and during dangerous incidents such as hostage situations to give deputies a close-up look at the scene without having to put themselves at risk.

...In the meantime, the department has developed an internal policy that says any imagery the camera collects will be deleted “unless federal or state regulations mandate retention.” In addition, the policy says that images “determined to be evidence in a criminal case will be retained.”

“We have to have stringent policies,” Dean said. “Just because we have the technology, we don’t have the right to be intrusive in people’s lives. That doesn’t change. I don’t want anybody looking in my backyard, and I don’t want our personnel flying over other people’s houses.”