11 Ways Police Departments are Using Drones
There is a paradigm shift occurring in law enforcement as drones become a critical element in almost every aspect of emergency operations
By Chief Charles Werner ( Ret .), Charlottesville Fire Department Reprinted with permission from Police1 , www . police1 . com
As drones continue to evolve , law enforcement agencies around the world are using them in more ways to save lives and enhance the safety of officers .
Drones have had a major impact in the areas of traffic crash reconstruction , reconnaissance before tactical deployments , SWAT overwatch , hostage situations , forensic investigations , patrol-deployed operations , searches for lost persons , tethered operations , traffic pattern evaluation and first response . Let ’ s take a look at these specific applications .
1 . Traffic Crash Reconstruction One of the earliest drone uses was traffic crash reconstruction . Not only can drones accurately capture crash scenes , but they can also do so in a third of the time of traditional methods and create three-dimensional models that can be accessed later for review . Most important , the quicker process reduces the possibility of secondary accidents , which enhances safety for all involved .
Police1 resource : Integrating laser scanning and UAV data gives investigators a new 3D view
2 . Pre-Tactical Deployment Reconnaissance Pre-tactical deployment use of drones allows for early reconnaissance of dangerous scenes — for instance , providing information about a building before a drug-raid entry , enhancing officers ’ understanding of the lay of the land and people in the area . Additionally , drone overwatch can remain in place after the team enters , giving the incident commander a bird ’ s-eye view while the operation unfolds .
Many times a drone records a suspect fleeing out other doors or windows , changing their shirts , or throwing drugs and guns into bushes and on roofs . Suspects who think they have successfully escaped are surprisingly apprehended . The Alameda County Sheriff ’ s Office ( ACSO ) in California had one such incident that captured drugs and guns being discarded with the ultimate apprehension of all suspects . In another incident , the ACSO broke up a drug and gambling operation , see the video here .
3 . SWAT Operations SWAT operations are extremely dangerous , as they often involve armed persons who have been in violent attacks . The drone provides overwatch as the SWAT team advances , and its view can be streamed in real-time to SWAT team members . This provides officers the ability to see around buildings , behind fences and into confined areas rather than moving forward blindly . The use of visual optics and thermal imaging provides versatile operations day or night .
In the past couple of years , the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) approved a “ Tactical Beyond Visual Line of Sight ” ( TBVLOS ) waiver , which allows public safety agencies to fly drones around and over buildings during dangerous missions such as law enforcement tactical operations , hazmat incidents , searches of dangerous terrain and similar without having to contact the FAA for special permission . To obtain this waiver , an agency must have an FAA certificate of authorization ( COA ) that allows the agency to fly as a public aircraft operation . Find a guide for applying both a COA and the TBVLOS waiver in the Online Resource Center at Droneresponders . org .
Police1 Resource : How to maximize the capabilities of SWAT drones
The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | May 2023
4 . Hostage Situations Hostage situations create an even more complex and dangerous challenge . Drones have been used here in several ways . One is to position the drone in a way that it can see into a window and get information as to the location of the suspect ( s ) and / or hostage ( s ). This has provided police intelligence as to where and when to make entry . In a number of cases , it ’ s helped mitigate the incident without injury . A specific example was in a deployment with the combined York County , Virginia Fire and Sheriff UAS team , which used a drone to guide an effective entry and mitigation with no injuries .
5 . Patrol-Led Deployment A patrol-deployed drone model places drones in the trunks of patrol vehicles , where they can be quickly deployed at incident scenes by secondary officers to provide situational awareness as to the locations of subjects , presence of weapons and other related hazards . This model can also provide complementary support and safety during K9 operations . This deployment model is exemplified by the Oklahoma City Police Department , which implemented its programs with Skydio drones and attributed that choice in large part to Skydio ’ s detect-and-avoid technology .
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