Police UAV use: institutional realities and public perceptions Alana Saulnier Sociology Department, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, and Scott N. Thompson Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore institutional realities and public perceptions of police use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Canada in relation to each other, drawing attention to areas of public misunderstanding and concern. Design/methodology/approach – Public perceptions data are drawn from a national survey (n ¼ 3,045) of UAV use. Institutional realities data are drawn from content analyses of all Special Flight Operation Certificates issued by Transport Canada from 2007 to 2012 and flight logs of a regional service kept from 2011 to 2013. Officer interviews (n ¼ 2) also provide qualitative insights on institutional realities from this same regional service. Findings – The data reveal disparities between institutional realities and public perceptions. Although federal, provincial and regional services currently use UAVs, awareness of police use of UAVs relative to traditionally piloted aircraft was low. Further, support for police use of UAVs was significantly lower than traditionally piloted craft; but, support also varied considerably across UAV applications, with the greatest opposition tied to tasks for which police do not report using UAVs and the greatest support tied to tasks for which police report using UAVs. Originality/value – This research provides previously unknown descriptive data on the institutional realities of police use of UAVs in Canada, positioning that knowledge in relation to public perceptions of police use of the technology. The findings raise concerns over how UAVs may negatively shape police/civilian relations based on procedural justice literature which demonstrates that a lack of public support for the technology may affect the police more broadly. Keywords Police, Public perceptions, Procedural justice, Drones, Unpiloted aerial vehicles Paper type Research paper Introduction On March 4, 2014 a reporter covering a protest near the Tyendinaga First Nation in Ontario, designed to draw attention to missing and murdered aboriginal women, was given a photo by a protester that showed a quad-copter style unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) hovering over the protest area[1]. The image was uploaded to Twitter, which prompted the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to confirm that one of their UAVs was deployed in that area. Public responses to the incident ranged considerably. For example, “Tweets” indicated attitudes of both support and opposition; they raised concerns over situational escalation and the spending of police budgets; some questioned the ethics of such surveillance practices; others looked to identify the craft model; while still more put forward complete misunderstandings, equating the UAV with weaponized military craft (CBC, 2014). It would be easy to dismiss these posts, labeling them as uninformed or inflammatory; however, they indicate something important about how UAVs are publically understood and their use is interpreted. The range of responses highlight public misunderstandings of the police use of UAVs, and also suggest the added meaning that these technologies bring to police actions, underscoring the need for careful attention to processes of social justice in the adoption Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management Vol. 39 No. 4, 2016 pp. 680-693 © Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1363-951X DOI 10.1108/PIJPSM-11-2015-0136 Received 23 November 2015 Revised 24 February 2016 7 April 2016 Accepted 11 April 2016 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/1363-951X.htm 680 PIJPSM 39,4 Downloaded by Queen's University At 10:06 28 November 2016 (PT)