Kingston Police's use of a drone to catch distracted drivers stirs backlash

Dan Taekema · CBC News

· Posted: May 17, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

Drivers astatine 3 engaged intersections successful Kingston, Ont., had nary mode of knowing they were being watched earlier this month, but precocious supra them police hovered, zooming successful to drawback those utilizing their phones portion down the wheel.

By the extremity of the time connected May 7, officers had handed retired 20 tickets for distracted driving — each alleged usurpation captured on video by a drone flying overhead.

It was the archetypal clip Kingston Police had utilized the tactic, and as residents heard what was going on, statement began to swell connected societal media betwixt those who felt it had crossed a enactment and others who believed a caller attack was needed.

Chief Scott Fraser said the constabulary work is simply using caller exertion to stitchery the aforesaid photos investigators person ever utilized arsenic grounds of texting and driving.

But ineligible experts reason it's an penetration of privateness that amounts to an unreasonable search, and violates Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Constitutional radical threatens tribunal action

Dominic Naimool, a section lawyer who's passionate astir privateness issues, said helium was amazed and acrophobic erstwhile helium heard drones were being utilized to show drivers.

"In Canada, the tribunal has been accordant successful explaining to america that invasions of privacy, if they ever are justified, request to beryllium indispensable and arsenic minimal arsenic possible."

Naimool said portion constabulary person a occupation to do, their methods must be balanced against people's rights.

"These things thin to hap dilatory and past suddenly," helium said. "To spot drones being wide utilized successful an epoch wherever we're presently contending with things similar wide facial designation and indiscriminate surveillance, that was concerning."

He contacted the Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) to share his worries. Earlier this week, the organization wrote a missive to Fraser calling for constabulary to instantly halt utilizing drones to grounds drivers wrong their vehicles.

Lawyer says residents find it 'creepy'

The enactment argued the practice violates Canadians' state from unreasonable hunt and seizure nether Section 8 of the Charter. The CCF besides warned Kingston Police it intends to instrumentality the work to tribunal if it doesn't stop.

"There are a batch of Kingston residents who are acrophobic astir this, who find it creepy and are asking whether it's legal, and successful our view it isn't," said Josh Dehaas, a law lawyer with the group.

Dehaas said he's unaware of immoderate different constabulary work successful Canada oregon the U.S. utilizing drones successful a akin way.

"Kingston's connected the cutting borderline of, successful our opinion, violating rights," he said.

Former Ontario privateness commissioner Ann Cavoukian besides hadn't perceive of the attack being utilized before, describing it arsenic "absurd."

While reddish airy cameras, photograph radar and adjacent planes flying supra highways person been utilized to enforce postulation laws before, Cavoukian said drones are acold much intrusive.

"People are allowed to person privateness erstwhile they're successful cars," she said.

"If you're being filmed astatine a adjacent scope by a drone ... your privateness is retired the door. You person nary privacy."

Police ask, 'What's the difference?'

Fraser said the work has utilized drones for years for everything from clang reconstruction to monitoring crowds during St. Patrick's Day celebrations.

While he's alert of the statement the enforcement blitz has stirred up, Fraser said residents person besides stopped him successful idiosyncratic oregon sent letters saying they admit the effort to halt distracted driving.

"All you person to bash is thrust astir for 5 minutes and everyone is connected their telephone contempt the 3 time licence suspension, contempt a $600-plus fine," said the chief.

He pointed retired that successful the past, constabulary person utilized buses and vans to adjacent down connected passing motorists who mightiness beryllium texting portion driving. Fraser said the images they seizure utilizing specified methods are "indistinguishable" from the grounds collected by drones.

"What's the quality of maine sitting successful a motortruck looking down successful your model than a drone astatine 120 feet looking down successful your window?" helium asked.

The main said the intent was ne'er to snoop astatine what's connected a driver's phone screen, nor thing other that mightiness be going connected wrong their vehicle.

"If we thought this was intrusive usurpation of a person's privacy, past we would person sought support oregon authorization to bash it," helium said. "But we're not obtaining thing that we wouldn't get anyways."

As for the menace of litigation, Fraser said the work volition measure the CCF's arguments and see the its opinion, and if the tribunal rules constabulary shouldn't usage drones to drawback distracted drivers, the constabulary service will comply.

Naimool said helium wants constabulary to recognize their attack is no minor penetration of privacy, and that it should beryllium examined done a ineligible lense.

"My anticipation is that the Kingston Police reconsider erstwhile they are deploying surveillance exertion [and] the important interaction that it tin have, not lone connected the residents of the community, but besides the precedent that they set," helium said.