Hamilton police should halt drone program, Ontario-wide investigation needed: former privacy commissioner
Ontario's current commissioner says HPS and other police services have not consulted about drone program
Ontario's former privacy commissioner says the current commissioner should launch a province-wide investigation on how police services are using drones, and programs like the one by Hamilton Police Service (HPS) should shut down until that's done.
"What Hamilton police is doing with these drones is appalling," Ann Cavoukian told CBC Hamilton.
"I don't believe the value of it is greater than the harm it introduces."
Her comments come after a CBC Hamilton investigation revealed details about when, how and why police use drones. It prompted privacy researchers to point out "red flags" in the program including a lack of transparency and gaps in its privacy assessment.
Since then, CBC has learned the office of Ontario's current Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) was never consulted about the drone program — despite HPS saying it conducted a privacy assessment that is "in compliance" with the IPC.
"They definitely should've cleared this with the privacy commissioner and clearly they didn't," Cavoukian said.
"If I was privacy commissioner still, I would launch an investigation right away."
The new information prompts additional questions about the amount of effort HPS put into trying to safeguard people's privacy.
HPS didn't follow recommendation to do public consultation
The HPS privacy impact assessment (PIA), obtained through a freedom of information request, is a document outlining a voluntary process that looks at how the technology may impact people's privacy and is in compliance with privacy laws.
Privacy and police researchers previously praised HPS for conducting a PIA.
The PIA states HPS sought "guidance" from two documents — authored by Cavoukian — and one by Canada's privacy commissioner about drones and privacy impact assessments.
But a review of those documents shows Hamilton police didn't follow all of the recommendations in them.
One of the guiding documents recommends having public consultation before launching the program.
The IPC also emphasized the importance of public consultation in its email to CBC.
WATCH | Police across Canada use drones. Here's why that's raising privacy concerns:
"It is crucial that the public is informed prior to implementation about what is being considered, as well as their access and privacy rights, and have an opportunity to voice their concerns," the IPC wrote.
"They should also consult with groups that may be most impacted, such as those who experience disproportionate policing and over-representation in the criminal justice system."
HPS has not done a public consultation on its use of drones.
HPS previously said its reason was that police and fire services around the world already use the technology.
"That's another reason why I would just take this off the books," Cavoukian said. "If they did do public consultation, I'm guessing most of the public would say 'No, we don't want this.'"
HPS did not provide an interview but spokesperson Jackie Penman says police followed guidelines from the IPC on conducting privacy impact assessments.
She said HPS didn't consult the IPC because it's "not a requirement" and because the IPC's role isn't to "provide consulting services to public bodies."
HPS wasn't alone in that decision — there are several police drone programs in Ontario, but IPC said Waterloo police has been the only police service to consult its office.
HPS disagrees with former commissioner
While the IPC said it doesn't "validate or certify" if an organization is following Ontario's privacy laws, it also said public engagement should be an "ongoing process throughout the development and deployment of any surveillance technology program."
The IPC added it encourages institutions to consult with its office, noting how drones can "facilitate close, continuous, and indiscriminate monitoring."
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See Hamilton police's privacy impact assessment at the bottom of this story
One of the IPC guiding documents, written by Cavoukian, also says institutions should use a "privacy by design" approach, which restricts data collection to only what is absolutely necessary.
Cavoukian says the HPS drone program has "no resemblance" to that approach. She has not reviewed the full privacy impact assessment but says the lack of public consultation alone, among other factors, tells her much about the program.
Penman said HPS did incorporate "privacy by design" and said the services will "continue to evaluate the program as we move forward."
"Our program is conducted within the boundaries of the privacy impact assessment," she wrote.
"Incorporating privacy considerations into all of our new uses of technology is an evolving process, and we are learning from each iteration."
HPS also noted data from each drone flight is audited and there are compliance checks every six months that go "above and beyond."
How does HPS drone program compare to other police?
CBC contacted nearby police services in Halton, Brantford and Niagara to compare their drone programs to that of HPS.
Halton police, which has had a drone program since 2012, didn't respond to questions.
Neither Brantford police nor Niagara police conducted a PIA at all.
When asked if there was any public consultation done on its drone program, Brantford police said it made a "formal media announcement … to advise the public," and does an annual presentation at its Citizen's Police Academy.
Niagara said there was a "a media event specific to drone operations" in 2015 where media outlets "assisted with public notification."
Brantford police said it may notify the public of its drone use depending on the situation while Niagara said it doesn't notify the public during deployments in non-restricted air spaces.
It's unclear if residents in either municipality had a chance to share how they felt about the program and if those answers were factored into the decision to launch drones.
Both police services also said there are no plans to incorporate facial recognition software or weaponry onto its drones.
'You've got to look under the hood'
The IPC said the police services boards should be "engaged in the consideration, development and governance" of these kinds of programs.
"This is especially necessary whenever surveillance technologies are implemented, given how particularly invasive they can be if left unchecked."
The IPC said it hasn't received any complaints about any drone programs by police and haven't opened any files to investigate.
Cavoukian said that may be because people lack awareness of the drone programs.
She said it's "sad" to hear there's no file being opened on the HPS drone program.
"That's why you proactively address these issues so that ideally you can prevent any harms from arising ... you've got to look under the hood."
See the Hamilton Police Service's privacy impact assessment here:
(PDF KB)
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