Private sector drones are coming

In Central America, there are currently at least five private security guards for every one police officer, possibly more depending on the statistics you use. What happens when there are five private security drones for every one that is used by police and military?

The cost for unmanned aerial vehicles has dropped rapidly in recent years. For less than $500, a person or company can obtain a drone capable of flying a preprogrammed track and taking video or photos. More money brings longer flying time, better imagery and other capabilities. While UAVs are currently only used by government forces, given the current costs, I think this trend will be visible in Latin America and the Caribbean within five years and considered a normal operation by some private firms within ten.

Private security companies will find numerous uses for drones. The first is imagery and video surveillance. They are going to use UAVs to monitor the areas they are protecting. They may also use them for mobile protection, following the vehicles of people they are guarding. They may also use them to track shipments in cargo trucks and ships in high crime areas.

The next step will be using UAVs for gathering intelligence on potential threats. That will be more controversial. They may also build UAVs with the potential to eavesdrop on conversations, break into wifi networks or jam the communications systems of bad guys.

The final and most controversial step would be any sort of weaponization of UAVs. I imagine that many countries will write laws to prohibit that sort of use, even if they allow companies to use them for video and photos.

Countries will also need to think through the monitoring and control of their airspace to prevent crashes or hazards above key locations.