Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison, who's been sceptical of the effectiveness of surveillance planes, has reversed course and said he supports a pilot program to let three private planes monitor the city from above.
The project has been in discussion since 2016 when Bloomberg reported that private surveillance planes had been circling the city in secret. While part of the community, including the ACLU, suggested that use of the planes - dubbed "spy planes" - would be a severe invasion of privacy, others believe that the surveillance could help to curb crime and record-high homicide rates.
The program is run by Ohio-based Persistent Surveillance Systems, which is backed by Texas billionaires Laura and John Arnold and supported by Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.
The pilot suggests that three planes would record during daylight hours from 8,500 feet above the ground, but would not be used for real-time surveillance. Instead, law enforcement could use the footage to investigate past crimes.
"By funding a limited-duration pilot and a fully independent evaluation, we hope to learn whether this technology can be a useful part of Baltimore’s crime reduction strategy," Arnold said in a statement.
The 4-to-6-month pilot will begin in May. Harrison said he would halt the program if it doesn't show results.