Canadian police forces have been using drones for many years, but scrutiny of their use is lacking, especially as the technology has evolved, privacy and surveillance researchers say.

Their concerns come after Vancouver91裸聊视频檚 Chief Const. Adam Palmer revealed that investigators deployed drones to locate a suspect in a pair of gruesome stranger attacks in the city91裸聊视频檚 downtown on Wednesday, that left one man dead and another with a severed hand.

Palmer paid tribute to the role of the drone operator in the arrest of 34-year-old White Rock man, who has now been charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault.

Brenda McPhail, an instructor in the public policy and digital society program at McMaster University, said the public only tends to hear about police use of drones 91裸聊视频渨here there91裸聊视频檚 been a success.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淰ery generally, the transparency and accountability for the police use of drones is a concern,91裸聊视频� McPhail said in an interview. 91裸聊视频淧olice forces across Canada have been using drones for some time and yet you hear very little about them in the public.91裸聊视频�

She said the public rarely gets a 91裸聊视频渓ine of sight into a failure91裸聊视频� or misuse of the technology.

91裸聊视频淲hat we don91裸聊视频檛 get is scrutiny about the mistakes,91裸聊视频� McPhail said.

Drone technology had changed a lot in the last five years, she said, including newer and better cameras, and the potential to couple them with facial recognition technology makes it 91裸聊视频渢ime for renewed scrutiny91裸聊视频� of police drone programs in Canada.

The Vancouver Police Department91裸聊视频檚 drone program was launched in 2019, and McPhail said it went through a 91裸聊视频減olicy process91裸聊视频� that included consultations with privacy and civil liberties advocates.

The resultant 91裸聊视频渞emotely piloted aerial system91裸聊视频� policy includes a ban on flights 91裸聊视频渇or surveillance purposes,91裸聊视频� except where there91裸聊视频檚 an 91裸聊视频渋mminent risk to life or safety.91裸聊视频�

It also bans drone flights to record or identify people taking part in peaceful protests.

The 2019 policy touts drones as tools 91裸聊视频渢o gather digital imagery in an effort to support public safety, enhance investigative techniques, expand operational awareness and aid in critical incident resolution.91裸聊视频�

Police drone pilots, the policy states, can be authorized to aid in a number of situations including 91裸聊视频渕ass casualty events,91裸聊视频� disaster responses, missing persons investigations, hazardous material spills or volatile situations including 91裸聊视频渂arricaded suspects, hostage situations, active deadly threat scenarios, high risk search warrants, and suicidal persons.91裸聊视频�

Palmer said Wednesday the department launched 91裸聊视频渕ultiple drones91裸聊视频� during the hunt for the Vancouver attacker, and one was in 91裸聊视频渃lose proximity91裸聊视频� to where investigators arrested McBride after a tip from a member of the public.

McPhail, the former director of the privacy, technology and surveillance program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, said changes to drone programs and updates to the technology should require more consultations to keep policies up-to-date and 91裸聊视频渘ew safeguards.91裸聊视频�

She said police in Toronto, for example, used drones to monitor crowds at a Canada Day celebration back in July, causing a 91裸聊视频渂it of controversy.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淎nd yet in Toronto, we91裸聊视频檝e absolutely never had a public conversation about whether we want police using surveillance drones for what they would call public safety at public gatherings, which edges very closely to public surveillance at public gatherings,91裸聊视频� she said.

91裸聊视频淭his kind of technology, if used inappropriately and without the right guardrails, has the potential to be really invasive. Police use of them has the potential to violate Charter rights.91裸聊视频�

Scott Thompson, an assistant sociology professor and surveillance researcher at the University of Saskatchewan, said public opinion in Canada has been supportive of police drones in 91裸聊视频渟ingle-event uses,91裸聊视频� such as finding criminal suspects or aiding in searches for missing persons.

But public 91裸聊视频減ush back91裸聊视频� to the technologies comes when it91裸聊视频檚 used for collecting personal information like license plates or 91裸聊视频減attern of life91裸聊视频� data, where peoples91裸聊视频� movements can be tracked over large distances over long periods of time, he said.

Police forces, Thompson said, often portray drone use in the best possible terms.

91裸聊视频淭hey91裸聊视频檙e kind of shy to let the public know exactly what the capabilities are or how often they91裸聊视频檙e deployed,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淏ut if we want an open society in which people can participate, we really need to know how often these technologies are being used and for what purposes.91裸聊视频�

Thompson said drones still have limitations, such as battery life, but 91裸聊视频渢he technology is moving forward every day.91裸聊视频�

He said some jurisdictions in the United States have started using 91裸聊视频渄rones as first responders,91裸聊视频� sending them to every police call, with 91裸聊视频渃ontinuous91裸聊视频� flights over geographic areas, collecting data somewhat indiscriminatingly.

91裸聊视频淭hese are places that policing in Canada have not yet stepped into, but as the technology gets better, they will be issues moving forward and that91裸聊视频檚 where we run into that concern about routine collection and pattern of life collection,91裸聊视频� he said.

Thompson said advancements in surveillance technologies means there91裸聊视频檚 a growing 91裸聊视频渋nvasiveness into our daily lives.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 why it91裸聊视频檚 super important that we have these conversations now before we have constant surveillance all the time, so the public can have a say in what it is that they expect in regards to privacy and what type of policing we want in our community,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淧rivacy is a serious concern because it91裸聊视频檚 a central feature of freedom and democracy within our society.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淲ithout privacy, we don91裸聊视频檛 have a capacity to feel free to voice our opinions, so this is something that we always want to be concerned about.91裸聊视频�

READ ALSO: Suspect named and charged in Vancouver knife attacks