Ada County Sheriff | Drones
In March 2024 the Sheriff told the Kuna City Council that his office has a large drone program. The EFF Atlas of Surveillance records DJI drones at the office since 2017.
At a glance
- What the Sheriff said
- "we have a large drone program", in a presentation to the Kuna City Council on 19 March 2024 [1]
- Vendor and start date
- DJI drones as of 2017, upgraded as recently as 2019, according to the Atlas [2]
- Written drone policy
- not established. The Sheriff's Office's own pages are unread
- Who approved the purchases
- not established. The Board of County Commissioners' record is unread
How it happened
- Deployment
DJI drones in service
The EFF Atlas of Surveillance records the Sheriff's Office operating DJI drones as of 2017, citing the office's own news posts about using unmanned aircraft in investigations and a thermal drone used to find lost hunters. [2]
- Context
The Sheriff describes the program to Kuna's council
In his periodic update to the Kuna City Council, Sheriff Matt Clifford lists the drone program among the office's police services, beside marine patrol at Lucky Peak and its utility vehicle program. [1]
What the record shows
Sheriff Matt Clifford visits the Kuna City Council every two years to describe his office, because Kuna buys its policing from the Sheriff. At the March 2024 visit he named the drone program as one of the office’s police services, along with its canine unit, SWAT team and marine patrol.
The EFF Atlas of Surveillance dates the program to at least 2017 and records DJI as the vendor. Its sources are the Sheriff’s Office’s own news posts, which are unread.
What is missing
The number of aircraft, the policy that governs them and the approvals for buying them are all records questions.
What we do not know
- How many drones the Sheriff's Office flies today, and of what make.
- Whether the office has a written drone policy, and what it says about recording people.
- Which body approved the purchases, and at what cost.
What you can do
Show up
Systems like this one are approved by boards, councils and committees that meet in public. We have confirmed where each of them meets in Ada County and how public comment works there.
How to show up in Ada County →Protect yourself
Practical steps to shrink your personal data trail. Our guides publish at launch; until then, EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense is the best starting point.
Surveillance Self-Defense →Sources
- 1. City of Kuna, City Council minutes, 19 March 2024, item "Ada County Sheriff Presentation" · Meeting record · · accessed
- 2.
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