State bill would add prison time for crimes involving drones

  • By Derrick Nunnally The Associated Press
  • Wednesday, February 11, 2015 12:01am
  • News

By Derrick Nunnally

The Associated Press

OLYMPIA — If a drone aircraft is used for a crime, from running drugs to scoping a house for robbery, prosecutors would be able to seek an extra year in prison for the offenders under a bill now before state lawmakers.

The Senate Law and Justice Committee held a hearing Tuesday morning on Sen. Pam Roach’s proposal to add the allegation of a “nefarious drone enterprise” to state criminal law, which she said was an effort to get ahead of the emerging technology of advanced, affordable personal-use unmanned aircraft.

The state currently has no restrictions on the use of drones, although 20 other states have enacted laws on drone-related issues.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

“It’s potentially a big tool for people that want to do wrong, and I’d like to let everybody know right away through law, don’t do it,” said Roach, a Republican from Auburn.

Her bill would add a year to the sentencing range that dictates how judges can punish an offense.

At least three other bills concerning drones have been filed in the Legislature this session in the wake of Gov. Jay Inslee’s veto of a bill last year that would have restricted how state and local government agencies use the unmanned aircraft.

Efforts to control unmanned flying aircraft have become more prominent since a wayward drone crashed on the White House lawn last month.

That drone’s manufacturer blocked all flights of its devices in Washington, D.C., where drone use was already illegal.

Also in January, authorities in Tijuana, Mexico, reported the crash of a cartel’s drug-laden drone, and a man in South Carolina was sentenced to 15 years for trying to use a drone to smuggle items into a prison.

Ryan Calo, a law professor at the University of Washington who focuses on robotics, said much of the scrutiny comes because drones are at the intersection of several broad areas — including privacy rights and the availability of high-tech devices to law enforcement and criminals alike — where the law hasn’t caught up with society’s fears.

“Suddenly because you do something with a drone, it becomes worse or more concerning than if you do it another way,” he said.

He noted that the “nefarious drone enterprise” bill has a very tight technological focus.

“It would be like saying that the crime of assault is different if it’s done with a hammer,” he said.

The bill drew no criticism before a scant audience at its three-minute public hearing Tuesday morning.

It faces several legislative hurdles before it could become law, and it’s not clear whether it has enough support to pass.

Roach and committee chairman and bill co-sponsor Sen. Mike Padden, a Spokane Valley Republican, discussed potential ways drones could aid crime schemes, including casing a house, spooking a herd of livestock or smuggling.

“There’s a lot of different uses that maybe we haven’t thought of and are out there,” Padden said.

More in News

Caro Tchannie and her daughter Lola Hatch, 9, of Tulallip try a long string of beads at Squatchcon on Thursday at the Vern Burton Community Center gym in Port Angeles. Kevin VanDinter of Port Angeles was one of 60 vendors at the four day event, which continues through Sunday. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Squatchcon underway

Caro Tchannie and her daughter Lola Hatch, 9, of Tulallip try a… Continue reading

Capital budgets include Peninsula

Millions in state funds earmarked

Mike Chapman.
Chapman asks not to employ legislative privilege

State senator removes an exemption to Public Records Act

Port of Port Townsend considering Short’s Farm access

Commissioners aim to balance public, agricultural use

Jefferson library director to start new job May 19

Meet-and-greet event scheduled for May 22

Man taken to hospital after car hits tree

A man was transported to a hospital after a single-car… Continue reading

Bypass roads to be installed at two fish passage sites

Contractors will begin construction of one-lane bypass roads at two… Continue reading

Emily Matthiessen/Olympic Peninsula News Group
Stew Cockburn stands in the spring annual section prior to it being for early spring gardeners.
New Dungeness Nursery planted in landscaping industry

Family and their employees work 2-acre location in Sequim

Partnership discussion may violate state law

OMC in Phase 2 of exploratory process

Members of the public take a guided tour at Port Townsend High School on Wednesday. (Elijah Sussman/Peninsula Daily News)
Port Townsend school district may seek $90M bond

Tour highlights high school’s infrastructure needs

A pair of wind surfers take off from the breakwater at Port Townsend Marina in an apparent race across the bay on Tuesday. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Catching the wind

A pair of wind surfers take off from the breakwater at Port… Continue reading