Seeing police officers with canine partners is nothing out of the ordinary. Police have been using dogs in their line of work for decades. And with the rise of technology, we may be entering a new era of robo-cops.
But the invention of new technology in the form of a K9 – looking creation named ‘Spot ®’ has some civil rights advocates up in arms.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts wants more information about this potential new device being used by law enforcement.
Recently the development company Boston Dynamics released to the public their four-legged technological wonder “dog” Spot. As explained by their website, Spot is “a nimble robot that climbs stairs and traverses rough terrain with unprecedented ease, yet is small enough to use indoors. Built to be a rugged and customizable platform, Spot autonomously accomplishes your industrial sensing and remote operation needs.”
Now mind you, this robot looks nothing like a dog other than the fact it walks on four legs. But the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) have had the unique opportunity to test this creation in the law enforcement setting.
The MSP created and agreement with Waltham based Boston Dynamic to test the dog like robot with their bomb squad. As reported by ZD Net.com, “As per the agreement, MSP’s bomb squad wanted to evaluate Spot in law-enforcement applications, particularly remote inspection of potentially dangerous environments which may contain suspects and ordinances.”
The agreement was made public after demands from the ACLU of Massachusetts came across a Facebook post in July for event the MSP were hosting regarding robotics in police work.
An MSP spokesperson told WBUR that Spot was used in their testing period as a “mobile remote observation device” which provided police with images of suspicious devices as well as potentially dangerous situations, like where an armed suspect might be hiding.
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MSP Robot Day
“Robot technology is a valuable tool for law enforcement because of its ability to provide situational awareness of potentially dangerous environments,” MSP spokesman David Procopio wrote.
The MSP says that during the time they had Spot it was deployed in two incidents as well as in test like environments.
Boston Dynamics vice president for business development Michael Perry stated,
“Right now, our primary interest is sending the robot into situations where you want to collect information in an environment where it’s too dangerous to send a person, but not actually physically interacting with the space.”
One major concern however that is being raised is, Spot, and robots like it could potentially be weaponized and sent in to situations in place of police canines and officers.
Although there are many different uses for this new technology and device, Boston Dynamics has stated, “[it] doesn’t want Spot weaponized.” Perry has explained that “the lease agreements have a clause requiring the robot not be used in a way that would physically harm or intimidate people.”
While the MSP stated they did not use the device in this manner while they were testing it, a similar device had been used in Dallas in a weaponized manner. According to WBUR, “In 2016, Dallas Police sent a bomb disposal robot armed with explosives to kill a sniper who had shot at police officers and killed five. Experts said it was the first time a non-military robot had been used to intentionally kill a person.”
Three years ago today, five officers were murdered in Dallas, TX. As cops, we know all too well the pain of losing a brother or sister in blue. We also know the risks of our profession. Cops run toward danger — #ItsWhatWeDo. It’s what cops will always do. #NeverForget our heroes. pic.twitter.com/ZgDy847axL
— Bill Bratton (@CommissBratton) July 7, 2019
Enter the ACLU of Massachusetts. Kade Crockford, who is the director of the technology for liberty program at the ACLU of Massachusetts had this to say about the use of technology like Spot.
“We just really don’t know enough about how the state police are using this,” Crockford said. “And the technology that can be used in concert with a robotic system like this is almost limitless in terms of what kinds of surveillance and potentially even weaponization operations may be allowed.”
WBUR reports that, Crockford has stated the ACLU Massachusetts “want to see a policy from state police about its use of robotics and a conversation about how and when robots should be used. State police didn’t say whether there’s a current policy about the use of robots, and the ACLU’s records request to the agency didn’t turn one up.”
Cockford went on to state, “We really need some law and some regulation to establish a floor of protection to ensure that these systems can’t be misused or abused in the government’s hands. And no, a terms of service agreement is just insufficient.”
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Now the ACLU is pushing both local and state lawmakers to “enact laws or regulations at the state level to govern how increasingly advanced robots can be used.” Sources say that there is no law like that that currently exists in Massachusetts.
Thor Eells, who is the executive director of the National Tactical Officers Association and also a former SWAT commander in Colorado, spoke with WBUR and stressed that in the majority of cases “robots are used in critical incidents — barricaded suspects, hostage situations or active assailants — not routine surveillance.”
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Screen Shot_Boston Dynamics
He went on to explain, “Normally, when these types of tools are being deployed, it’s pretty risky operation.”
WBUR reported that, “Eells said he recognizes the need for more information about how these robots are used and the concern about how they might infringe on people’s privacy or civil liberties. But he contended that police have to reach the same legal bar for, say, sending a robot into someone’s house. They would need a warrant.”
“Those protections still exist,” Eells explained. “They’re not something that can be circumnavigated by the utilization of robotics. Law enforcement still has a responsibility to ensure that they’re used legally as deemed so by the courts.”
The MSP currently have a fleet of robots that they can deploy in the aforementioned situations. It is reported that as of 2017, the bomb squad had 18 robotic platforms worth $1.8 million that are used on a weekly basis, according to police records.”
However, they do not have anything that comes close to Spot. So, needless to say, MSP Troopers are excited at the new technology they can deploy. According to WBUR, “in one email in June, a lieutenant on the special tactical operations team wrote to a colleague, “Dude, it’s time,” with a link to a New York Post article headlined, “Boston Dynamics’ creepy dog-like robot is about to go on sale.”
Perhaps these officers are just excited that there is another tool that will allow them and their fellow officers to stay safer on the job? But who doesn’t like a robot that can also dance to Bruno Mars?
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