Drone unit impresses Nottinghamshire police during first six months

The new drone unit of the Nottinghamshire Police in the UK has had an impressive first six months and has helped fight crime and save lives.

Impressive first six months for new drone unit

During this time the drone unit has helped to detain 39 suspects and find six missing people. Since the start of this year the team three drones some of which equipped with thermal cameras have participated in more than 300 incidents across the county.

“In a very short space of time the drone unit has become an invaluable policing resource,” said PC Vince Saunders, chief pilot and one of 15 officers trained to operate the drones. “Having that three-dimensional perspective can help officers out in nearly every conceivable police incident – from arrests and searches to crowd control and drugs raids.

“We can even use a police drone to quickly and accurately map the scenes of road traffic accidents. At first, they may have been a novelty, but our drones are now a central part of our response to so many incidents.”

According to the West Bridgford Wire, he added: “The real advantage of our drones is in their versatility, cost-effectiveness and the speed in which they can be deployed. That means we’re now using them to help in situations where helicopter support just wouldn’t have been a viable or cost-effective option in the past.

“A good recent example is the arrest of a burglary suspect in Aspley. Arresting officers suspected he’d flee so requested support from one of our drones. As we suspected he did run away, hurdling hedges and fences in the process, but he couldn’t escape our eye in the sky. We’ve also been able to locate missing people very quickly – and in one case I am certain we saved somebody’s life in the process.”

The photo above shows that the three drones are a DJI Matrice 200/210 with Zenmuse X30 and XT2 cameras, a DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise with spotlights, and a DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise with a loudspeaker. And while these drones are certainly not cheap, they do provide a more economical solution than a more traditional police helicopter.

PC Saunders added: “Obviously our drones are not cheap, but they are a one-off cost and they are providing fantastic value for money. They are keeping people safe, helping us to apprehend suspected offenders, and generally helping us to fight and investigate all manner of crime. That’s why I believe we’ll be using them a lot more in the future.”

What do you think about the increase in the use of drone units by the police? Let us know in the comments below.

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Photo credit: West Bridgford Wire