Public Safety Agencies and UAV Technology: A Review of Uses

Abstract

This study utilizes a systematic review of some of the scholarly literature available on drone usage within Southern California, specifically in Los Angeles and Chula Vista. I ask: how do public safety agencies use drone technology? The review will cover cases from existing scholarly literature, as well as policy reports and books from the Google Scholar database. A systematic review was the best methodology to begin fully investigating my research question, since the scope could have been so large that individual data points would have been difficult to find and instead requires a macro-level review. This data will provide a foundation to function as a pre-study for scholars to use in future research and case studies. I chose this method since most academia has tended to examine the usage of UAV technology abroad or at the border, but the expansion of domestic drone usage by public safety agencies hundreds of miles from any border necessitates an understanding of their role in domestic policing. Using the approach described above, I will develop original data using the process of thematic coding to respond to the identified question to understand the real usage of drones and UAV systems in California