Davis Would Consider Surveillance Drones For 2014 Boston Marathon

BOSTON (CBS) – Surveillance drones at the Boston Marathon?

Boston police commissioner Ed Davis says he'd consider using them to hover above the 2014 race, in the wake of the marathon bombings.

"Drones are an interesting technology that is being employed across the country," Davis told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Wednesday.

"There are certainly serious privacy concerns that we have to consider before we do something like that."

"As you saw from the state police helicopter video, in a tactical situation, there's sometimes no better way to keep the officers safe on the ground than to be able to look down on the action," the commissioner said.

"We don't have a helicopter in the Boston Police.  These drones are an inexpensive way to get up high and to give the officers information that they need."

Davis is also calling for an improved system of eye-level street surveillance.

"One of the problems that we find is that we'll oftentimes get a picture but it's not identifiable because the cameras are up too high. So, we've been looking with our technical people at lowering cameras so that we get a better look at exactly who's in the area," he told WBZ.