Chief Superintendent Jim Nye said, “At present we have five officers trained across both forces. Over the next twelve months we are aiming to have a further 40 officers having completed their Civil Aviation (CAA) training, allow them to be fully accredited and enable them to operate the drone.
“We will also be adding to the number of drones we have as the number of trained officer’s increases.”
The unit comprises six drones, based in Plymouth and in Dorset, with plans in the coming months to have UAVs flying over roads across the three counties of Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall, giving 24/7 support to police. The UAVs being used are the DJI Inspire with a zoom camera and thermal imaging, as well as a DJI Mavic, with its greater potential for portability due to its reduced size and weight.
Some of the drones’ tasks include searching roads and crime scenes, and scouring the approximately 600 miles of coastline and woodlands in the force’s area to combat wildlife crime. Other police forces, such as Merseyside, Gwent, and Kent, have also trialled the use of drones for such operations as monitoring drug raids and searching for missing people. Forces around the country will now be looking to the south west to see how to best utilise this technology.
For live updates on the progress of this police unit, follow the handle @policedrones on Twitter.
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