While I agree wholeheartedly with the privacy argument, it is not strong enough to resist the encroachment of your freedoms by the tools of surveilence. But think about this. For now, all you need to be concerned about is that you are not breaking the law. As long as you are not doing anything wrong, you don't have anything to hide. That is because most of us can and do live within the laws of the land without protest. But what happens when the laws of the land become intolerable? What happens when peaceful protest becomes illegal in the name of national security. What happens when dissent becomes illegal in the name of nationalism. It has happened before and we are niave to think it won't happen again, especially in a world so paralyzed with fear that we are willing to give up our most basic freedoms in the name of safety. Well once those activities have become illegal, the tools to enforce them will already be in place, and we will ask, "How did this happen"?

on the loose, liverpool, england

Issues of privacy aside (Valid though they obviously are) the fact remains that there are a plethora of laws that shouldn't be obeyed anyway. A law against loitering? That's the most foolish law I've heard in a long time. As a person who's more concerned with acting morally than with society's naive laws, I can say that people will get punished in a nanny state for doing things that, reasonably, they SHOULD be doing.

In fact, they already do.

Church Alexander, Perth, Australia

Why is it that every time someone wants to put up cameras in *PUBLIC* people start whining about "big brother"? Being as the cameras are out in public, how is it invading anyone's privacy? How is it any different than having a live police officer or security guard on the scene?

Moonbarker, Sevierville, Tennessee, U.S.

We live in an age where old people can be mugged, young people can be stabbed or shot and thieves, terrorists and vandals roam free. Freedom for the rest of us requires these types of innovation. If you behave according to the laws and rules of society, you have nothing to fear from surveillance.

cclarke, New York, USA

Welcome to your police state. Not that we're doing any better, but Big Brother is always bad. Always.

Jose, Dallas, TX

Anyone else walking around with a gun in plain sight would be arrested too. Get a grip, Paul.

Taylor, Lawrenceville, GA, USA

"Provided this is ensured, what issue should any law abiding, reasonably minded citizen have with being observed by the drone."

Because a) some people, even if acting lawfully, enjoy their privacy. There are plenty of legal things one can be doing in which unwanted observation is not desired, and b) people start running into "guilt by association", where while *you* may be acting fully within the law, if you are seen associating with people who don't, or your immediate circle of friends (first degree of seperation) is seen associating with police targets in their daily activities (second degree of seperation) it could come back to you.

Besides, the governments--or, at least the US--seems overly suspicious of activities it subversive, even if they are innocuous. Peaceful rights groups are infiltrated by our FBI just as often as gun-waving extremists, solely because their message does not follow the party line.

We are fully moving closer to Big Brother. Glad I don't live over there..

Tom C, Oceanside, California, USA

I don't cheat on my taxes, but that doesn't mean that I would welcome an audit.

I don't steal from the grocery store, but that doesn't mean I want a clerk at the end of the check out line rummaging through my purchases, and asking me to explain the massive amounts of candy I buy

I don't speed, but that doesn't mean I want a cop in my passenger seat.

I don't think it is too much to ask that I be allowed to lead a private life, free of arbitrary monitoring. Especially if I don't break the law.

Jimmy , Denver, CO

Chris:
I hope you post was meant as a joke, but it probably wasn't so here goes.
The critical issue is not how the gathered information is used, it's what information is gathered in the first place, and what justification exists for gathering it. I live in the United States--not the UK and like all Americans, I am fat, stupid, and willfully ignorent of the laws elsewhere, so I can only speak to the US legal system. Here, it has long been a basic premise of law that you cannot be subjected to monitoring, shakedowns, or interrogations without probable cause, regardless of how the obtained information could be used. That's the legal way of saying that ends cannot be used to justify means.
Once we start using vauge ideas like "public saftey" to justify what we we do- instead of principles- we quickly end up with the denial of all individual rights; fascism.

Brad, Denver, CO

These need to be flown in Iraq and Afghanistan, not in the UK or other non-threatening areas.

Scott, Kaneohe, Hawaii

Well no need to flee to America, we are sacrificing our freedom for security and to make sure we dont hurt anyones feelings. I think we need a new island, in the Pacific.

Jason, Norfolk, USA

This is not much different than a helicopter flying overhead no? At any rate I am glad to see it hasn't inflitrated the US yet! Or at least we don't know about it.....

Mason, Pawtucket, US/RI

Sounds like Skynet from the "Terminator" films, doesn't it?

Someone, Bedford, New Hampshire

Are you all so paranoid that you are really afraid of a toy helicoptor? C'mon!

Breck, Monroe, Iowa, United States

What if I want to pick my nose or scratch my ball*, do I really want a drone plane flying over my head capturing that? If a person sees me at least it wont be recorded.
Remember Big Brother people, remember.

BigBear, connecticut, usa

"In the far distance a helicopter skimmed down between the roofs, hovered for an instant like a bluebottle, and darted away again with a curving flight. It was the police patrol, snooping into people's windows. The patrols did not matter, however. Only the Thought Police mattered."

George Orwell
1984

Sharema, London, UK

Clearly the need to safeguard individual freedom and civil rights remains essential. However, the drone is nothing more than a simpler, more cost-effective and flexible means of delivering observation and evidence gathering functions already undertaken by existing programmes of CCTV, helicopter activity etc. With this in mind, they key question relates not really to the drone but to the principles of surveillance perse. In this, critically the issue is that information gathered upon individuals is only used appropriately in pursuit of criminal investigations and public safety and for no other purpose; currently safeguards would appear to be in place to ensure this. Provided this is ensured, what issue should any law abiding, reasonably minded citizen have with being observed by the drone. If you are not breaking the law, why should you hide; conversely, if you are indeed acting nefariously, you are already in the process of denying others their human rights and thus your own rights should, indeed be subordinated to the need to address the threat which you pose to the community.

Chris, Colchester, UK

Anyone else flying that in a public place would be arrested.

Paul, Rochester, UK

Big Brother is definitely here.. First CCTV, then Digital Cameras, Infrared and now this.. Time to emigrate methinks.

Hamad lone, Thornton Heath, England

How big of a rock would you need to knock one of these out? I detect the emergence of a new sport in the near future...

Pete, Bradford, VT

hahahah this is why i left britain.

jpdr, Köln, Germany

I for one welcome our new flying robot police overlords

Foo, Fooville, Foom