For the past nine months, drones have been hovering over the skyline of Moree, in north-west NSW.
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NSW Police confirmed that in addition to being used for “operational purposes”, footage captured from the drones would be used as evidence in court “if a criminal offence or public safety issue occurs”.
Principal solicitor at the Justice and Equity Centre, Jonathan Hall Spence, said that was starting to happen.
“This footage might be appearing in the brief of evidence, but there’s not much chance for the court to test it or probe it because people plead guilty so that they can resolve the matter quickly,” he said.
“There hasn’t yet been [a] legal challenge to the use of drone footage in evidence, but I anticipate that we will probably see that before long.”
Mr Hall Spence said the drones were different to other forms of cameras used by police.
“Drones can get really up close and personal to people’s properties and backyards, and they can also do that in a way that’s not necessarily very noticeable,” he said.
