Think of drones and you’ll usually think of someone flying one too close to an airport or crashing into your garden after somehow flying out of the local park. Now though, you’re also likely to see them being put to better use in more useful tasks.
Our local West Midland Police had their drone buzzing over Touchwood Shopping Centre in Solihull on Sunday, so I decided to take a look at their Twitter feed. They’re actually using a DJI Mavic Enterprise drone, which has been paid for by the Proceeds of Crime Act, which means that the “baddies” paid for it effectively. It comes with a loud haler, spotlights and a flashing beacon.
In addition to providing monitoring of football matches and other big events, they also help with the investigation of road traffic accidents, taking footage from above to help to find out exactly what happened. The teams also supporting other areas of the police to tackle car key burglary, with thermal imaging helping to find cars which have hot engines. They can also help to find people quickly in parks and remote areas where it would traditionally take much longer with a large amount of police on foot.
They also help to find off-road bikers and can help to film evidence from on-high to support ongoing investigations.
It’s good to see the technology being put to good use. Follow them on Twitter here for more info.