If you are in Lancaster . . .look up and smile. You may be on a live video feed to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department dispatch center shot by a plane flying overhead.

The inaugural flight of Lancaster’s first law enforcement aerial surveillance unit, a small 33-year-old Cessna aircraft, took place on Friday and marks somewhat of a hallmark. Other jurisdictions have aircraft they use to monitor specific activities, but none apparently use a continuous feed to local units on ground patrol.

Some day, if drones are covering every square inch of the surface below in major metropolitan cities across America, Lancaster’s 10-hour-a-day Cessna surveillance might seem innocent and quaint. But for now, it has raised the hackles of a few Lancaster residents and piqued the interest of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).    

Two people who came to protest the flights at a press conference Thursday announcing their debut were turned away, but they told a reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News that the plane was an invasion of their privacy.

An attorney for he ACLU, David Bibring, said his organization had reservations about the flights, but that a review of the plane’s technical capabilities indicated it couldn’t see or record any more than a regular airplane or helicopter. The video feed is encrypted and not available to the public.

But the potential exists for using infrared sensors, better camera equipment, facial recognition software, and the ability to store large amounts of data might pose a threat to people who are not suspects in a crime, Bibring said.

Supporters of the flights say that any privacy reservations are outweighed by the potential for catching more criminals, detering bad behavior and saving deputies time.    

Lancaster’s overall crime rate dropped every year after 2005, reaching its lowest level in a decade in 2010—although it did exceed its nearest neighbors in Palmdale and Santa Clarita. The city has experienced a 16% increase in serious crime this year.

Lancaster expects to pay $90,000 a month for the service provided by Aero View LLC, which developed the program and operates the plane. The initial contract with the company calls for a $1.3 million payout, considerably less than a $30 million figure reportedly kicked around during four years of development.  

Like most cities in California, Lancaster is struggling to pay its bills. The city’s proposed 2012-13 budget document shows 86 government positions remain unfilled and acknowledges that the elimination of redevelopment agencies by the state will “hinder economic development and threaten community safety.” The transfer of inmates from state prisons to local jails is also putting an additional burden on the city.

“In this time of depressed revenues, staff closely examined every expenditure line and eliminated nonessential or items not legally required,” the budget report says.

Sales tax revenues in Lancaster—which had 156,633 residents as of 2010 and is California’s 30^th largest city—are down 6% and property tax revenues are down 27% from peak levels. The city budget is 19.6% smaller than the year before.

But being a trailblazer could turn out to be a boon for Lancaster. The city gets $5 off its hourly rate for each city or county Aero View inks to a contracts. If Aero View signs up 60 more clients, Lancaster pays nothing.

–Ken Broder

To Learn More:

Lancaster Takes to the Skies to Get a View on Crime (by Abby Sewell, Richard Winton and Melissa Leu, Los Angeles Times)

Lancaster's New Surveillance Plane Draws Praise, Protest (by Eric Hartley, Los Angeles Daily News)

Proposed Program and Financial Plan (City of Lancaster)

Crime in Lancaster, CA (City-Data.com)