Police departments all over the country use drones as part of their crime fighting arsenal. Drones can be used in several different ways to assist police with surveillance and crime prevention, and police forces are applying drone usage to their day to day operations at a quickly increasing rate.
According to Bard College, UAVs equipped with thermal cameras and optical zoom capabilities are the best drones for police and surveillance. Police forces have seen firsthand how implementing UAVs can assist in many different ways. For instance, a drone can zoom in on a target from a great distance, keeping police officers away from harmful situations.
Statistics show that there are 347 agencies in the United States who are using drones for tactical work. Drone usage has also increased a whopping 518% in the past two years.
What are some of the ways drones are being utilized?
Search and Rescue
Search and rescue missions are extremely important when it comes to keeping citizens safe. When used in search and rescue missions, drones have the ability to cover massive areas using thermal cameras in both dark and light situations. Time is essential when it comes to search and rescue missions and the use of drones can save valuable time and greatly boost success rates.
Active Shooters
Police forces can use drones to help investigate a active shooter situations. Drones can provide insights and intelligence to police without having to risk a live body. When a suspect is considered armed and dangerous, the use of a drone can help law enforcement pinpoint where the shooter is and allow the department to develop the best plan to diffuse the situation in the shortest amount of time.
Analyze the Scene
Helping to better and more accurately analyze a crime scene is another benefit to police when they use drones. Drone technology can help to recreate a scene by using a measurable and navigable map. This works far better than the animated recreations that have been used for years previously.
Traffic Collisions
Similar to how drones are used to recreate a crime scene, they can also do the same with the scene of an automobile accident. By using a police drone for 3D mapping, you can quickly and accurately put together a 3D rendering of the scene, which takes far longer when manual measurements are taken.
Surveillance
Surveillance drones also allow police forces to scout areas where suspects may be hiding out. The use of drone technology in this situation keeps the mission as discreet as possible. In situations where a suspect could easily be alerted to an officer/patrol car performing routine surveillance, a drone can help combat this problem, and allow for a closer look at any situation, while keeping officers safe at the same time.
Drones are becoming increasingly more ingrained with police work and are proving to be invaluable by increasing mission success rates and keeping body counts low.