Thieves in Mexico City are known to have been using drones for more than a year to case homes they plan to burglarize.

Now, National Action Party (PAN) Deputy Héctor Barrera has proposed that the city take regulatory action to combat the illicit use of the aviation technology.

“We have seen various cases among the inhabitants of Mexico City where these aerial devices are used to initially obtain images of the interiors of houses, which are later robbed,” he said.

A member of the capital’s Citizen Security Commission, Barrera said residents have told him that day and night home burglaries have flared up in recent weeks, and that they have seen drones used to case potential targets.

He believes that technology has enabled crime to exceed the police’s ability to combat it.

“. . . They carry out attacks and gather valuable information to commit their crimes, as technology at the service of crime gives them the opportunity to have that information, which puts preventative authorities at a disadvantage in their ability to respond,” he said.

“[Drones] are easy to access, obtain and use, as they can get hundreds of images in a matter of minutes [and from] distances of 500-600 meters from where they are operating them.”

Barrera presented an initiative to modify the local penal code to criminalize the use of drones in order to commit crimes, as well as other improper uses, such as spying and violation of privacy.

Source: El Universal (sp)