Shoplifters could soon be chased down by drones

Shoplifters fleeing a Home Depot could soon find themselves pursued by surveillance drones tracking their every move from above. Flock Safety, the company behind police drone programs across the US, is now pitching its aerial surveillance technology to private businesses.

The system works like this: security teams spot trouble, activate a drone from its rooftop docking station, and follow suspects with cameras. "The drone follows the people. The people get in a car. You click a button, and you track the vehicle with the drone, and the drone just follows the car," explains Keith Kauffman, a former police chief who directs Flock's drone program.

The video feeds can go directly to company security teams or automatically transmit to police departments. Flock is targeting shopping centers, hospitals, warehouses, and oil facilities, though no major retailers have signed contracts yet.

The expansion raises significant privacy concerns. "Flock is the Meta of surveillance technology now," says Rebecca Williams from the ACLU, calling the move "very scary." She warns it could further erode Fourth Amendment protections by allowing government agencies to purchase surveillance data that would otherwise require warrants.

The FAA is still drafting rules that could restrict such operations.