Reference no: EM132101033

With the growing use of drones in various governmental activities, consider and discuss this case: Sheriff Alonzo Griffith of Metropolitan County Government in a northeastern state was intrigued by the idea of using drones, smaller and less expensive versions of the aircraft used by in military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran. His interest was piqued last year when he learned that they could see through walls, use software for facial recognition, and intercept calls and e-mails, all with little regulation. He envisioned drones helping to find missing children or marijuana fields, detect wildfires, report accidents such as highway pileups or hazardous material spills, or track dangerous suspects. Yet he was aware that surveillance drones raise controversial issues of privacy. He learned many citizen groups strongly oppose their domestic use. Sheriff Griffith told his staff to arrange the purchase of two unmanned remote control aircraft as a law enforcement tool. Now, he is torn about the order, wondering if this was the ethically correct action. He decided to use the ethics triad to think carefully about the decision before acting.