The new president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, Teresa Sánchez-Gordon, is a former L.A. County judge who says her upbringing in an undocumented family gives her a unique perspective on the current challenges facing the LAPD.

The Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday said it would review the city Police Department's use of facial recognition software and how it compared with programs in other major cities. The commission did so after citing reporting by The Times this week that publicly revealed the scope of the LAPD's use of facial recognition for the first time -- including that hundreds of LAPD officers have used it nearly 30,000 times since 2009. Critics say police denials of its use are part of a long pattern of deception and that transparency is essential, given potential privacy and civil rights infringements. Commission President Eileen Decker said a subcommittee of the commission would "do a deeper dive" into the technology's use and "work with the department in terms of analyzing the oversight mechanisms" for the system. "It's a good time to take a global look at this issue," Decker said.

The Los Angeles Police Department embraced predictive policing in 2015, but it has taken until now for the department's assortment of once-shadowy data-based operations to be thoroughly vetted in public. In the end, that's the essential problem to be solved -- the lack of transparency and public accountability in deploying crime-targeting tools that could so easily be misused to oppress rather than protect neighborhoods already struggling with both crime and heavy-handed policing. It took years of work by activists to bring programs like LASER (a data-crunching operation that identifies crime hot spots) and PredPol (a software program that predicts property crimes) into the light of day, and they are to be commended; but they are off base in their demands that police scrap the tools entirely. Data, used properly, can enhance public safety. Police should be encouraged to use it, as long as they are open about what they are doing, and as long as they heed legitimate criticism and adjust their programs accordingly.

American police have certainly used drones before, but not on this scale. The Los Angeles Police Commission has voted in favor of letting the LAPD fly drones in a year-long pilot program, making it the largest US police department to ever rely on the robotic aircraft. The force will use the drones for aerial searches, recon in tense situations (think: standoffs) and other tasks where officers would otherwise be at risk. The machines could save lives, according to the LAPD, but there were numerous concessions made to address privacy concerns -- and some people still aren't convinced these limits will prevent abuse. The trial's rules restrict flights to SWAT team members in dangerous situations, such as when there's a heavily armed suspect on the loose.

In the two months since the Los Angeles Police Department revealed that it wants to try flying drones, the unmanned aircraft have been the source of an often heated back-and-forth. Advocates say the drones could help protect officers and others by using nonhuman eyes to collect crucial information during high-risk situations. Skeptics worry that use of the devices will steadily expand and include inappropriate -- or illegal -- surveillance. The LAPD's harshest critics want the drone program scrapped before it even takes off. On Tuesday, the civilian board that oversees the LAPD will vote on whether to allow the department to test drones during a one-year pilot program.

The Los Angeles Police Department released formal guidelines on its proposal to fly drones during a one-year pilot program, spurring questions and concerns among members of a civilian oversight panel and the public at a contentious meeting Tuesday. "Our challenge is to create a policy that strikes a balance, that promotes public safety, the safety of our officers and does not infringe on individual privacy rights," Assistant Chief Beatrice Girmala told the Los Angeles Police Commission at the packed meeting. Before outlining the guidelines, Girmala reviewed initial feedback from the community on the proposed drone initiative. Of 1,675 emails, only about 6% were positive and encouraged the LAPD to incorporate the new technology. The Police Commission must approve the pilot program before any of the unmanned aircraft are flown.

Should Los Angeles police be allowed to test the use of drones? The question will be one of many posed Wednesday evening at a series of forums held by the Los Angeles Police Department as it tries to gauge public reaction to its proposal to fly drones during a one-year pilot program. The meetings, scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m., will be held in four locations: the Westwood Recreation Center; Peck Park Recreation Center in San Pedro; Friendship Auditorium near Griffith Park; and the Marvin Braude San Fernando Valley Constituent Service Center in Van Nuys. The LAPD's proposal is still in the early stages -- the civilian Police Commission must sign off on both the pilot program and a policy for testing the drones before any are flown. Drones have been hailed by law enforcement across the country as a valuable technology that could help find missing hikers or monitor armed suspects without jeopardizing the safety of officers.

The Los Angeles Police Department's slow and careful process for developing a policy on how it will deploy drones is imperfect, but Chief Charlie Beck and his department are approaching the question in the proper spirit, taking public input and considering the many very serious concerns about drones being used for unwarranted police snooping. If only L.A. County Sheriff Jim McDonnell would take heed. Both the LAPD and the Sheriff's Department have already acquired the small, remote-controlled and camera-equipped devices that could prove valuable in providing an aerial view of tense standoffs -- or could just as easily be misused to ramp up intrusive public surveillance, ostensibly in the name of crime prevention. McDonnell unveiled his program in January as a done deal and has deployed one drone despite criticism from members of the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission, who want publicly vetted standards for using the equipment. Beck, by contrast, has sworn off drone flights pending the drafting of guidelines and a series of public meetings, and amid demonstrations by activists who oppose any use of the devices in their belief -- not altogether unreasonable, given how some departments have used red-light cameras and license-plate readers -- that once police have them they will be prone to misuse them.

Before the meeting, roughly three dozen activists from various groups -- including the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, Black Lives Matter and Los Angeles Community Action Network -- stood outside the LAPD's downtown headquarters, denouncing the use of drones by police. The Police Commission should "completely reject LAPD's latest attempt to revive its drone program," said Hamid Khan, founder of the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, an anti-surveillance group that frequently criticizes the LAPD. Earlier this year, L.A. County Sheriff Jim McDonnell announced his agency's plans to use a $10,000 drone to help deputies responding to arson scenes, suspected bombs and hostage situations. On July 27, the majority of the Civilian Oversight Commission also expressed their desire for McDonnell to stop flying the drone, citing concerns over surveillance and safety.