The Dutch defence ministry owns 75 drones, or unmanned surveillance aircraft, and these are regularly used in the Netherlands to carry out police work, defence minister Jeanine Hennis has confirmed to MPs in the Dutch Parliament.
MPs had asked questions about the privacy implications of using drones after a report by the AD newspaper earlier this month.
In the article, the paper said drones are used to trace burglars and getaway cars as well as illegal marijuana plantations. For example, Harlingen borrowed two drones from the defense ministry last year after a spate of burglaries in the Frisian town.
According to research by news website nu.nl, drones have been used 551 times since their use in civilian surveillance was agreed in 2009.
In 2012, information on air space closures in official documents show drones were used on average once every other day. In 2011, almost 90% of flights were made public in advance but last year this fell to 50%. So far this year, only 24% of drone flights have been published.
Read more: DutchNews.nl - Use of drone aircraft by police is increasingly secretive: nu.nl
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