"Drones will certainly have a purpose and a reason to be in this region in the next, coming years," said Fairfax County (Va.) Police Chief David Rohrer on WTOP Radio's "Ask the Chief" program on Monday.
One possible use of the drones, said Rohrer, could be monitoring the traffic that plagues the congested D.C. metro area.
A list of the agencies allowed to use drones was made available to the public last week, and Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth University aren't the only ones on it. Texas A&M University is also cleared to use the technology as are the Texas police forces in Arlington and Montgomery County.
The increase in drones in the sky has led to concerns from Congress and privacy advocates that the technology could breach Americans' privacy rights.
Listen to local Virginia police chiefs David Rohrer, from Fairfax County, and Charlie Deane, from Prince William County, discuss drones and more below.
