Activists have warned against “Mission Creep” which refers to the department’s questionable partnership with programs such as the Suspicious Activity Reporting.

Despite protests in Los Angeles and months of debate, a civilian panel approved Tuesday the use of drones by the police department, the United States' largest.

In a 3 to 1 vote, an army of drones or “small unmanned aerial systems” will join the police force, even as protesters denounced the ruling, rallying outside the LAPD headquarters.

Police officials defended their decision, promising to institute a number of careful restrictions regarding the time and use of drones, adding that all weapons and facial-recognition technology will be prohibited.

However, critics say they do not trust the department to follow their own rules. “The history of this department is of starting off with supposedly good intentions about the new toys that it gets … only to then get too tempted by what they can do with those toys,” said Jim Lafferty of the National Lawyers Guild Los Angeles.

“Mission creep is, of course, the concern,” he added.

Activists have warned against “Mission Creep” which refers to the department’s questionable partnership with programs such as the Suspicious Activity Reporting that has led to the launching of overzealous and intimate investigations and the opening of confidential files based on innocent behavior on multiple occasions.

LAPD officials say the department will purchase two drones, reserving one as a backup in emergency situations, and launching the other within the next 30 days.