Police to trial the use of drones in New Year

Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police are to carry out a six month trial of small unmanned aircraft, more commonly referred to as drones.

A demonstration of the drone technology took place today in Warwickshire to members of the independent Trust, Integrity and Ethics Committee, who will scrutinise the force's proposed use of drones prior to commencement of the trial in January.

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Nav Malik said: "We believe small unmanned aircraft can bring a number of benefits to operational policing. Using drones could allow the police service to expand air operations in a cost effective way, helping to further protect communities from harm.

"During the trial we will use drones in two ways - they may be deployed to an incident as a resource to assist or they may be used in a pre-planned operation for example to help manage public safety.

"One area we are keen to explore further is how drones may be able to assist officers in locating a vulnerable missing person in a rural area. In theory a drone should be able to help us search a large area quickly using aerial photography and thermal imaging equipment. This can be viewed from the ground to direct officers to a location faster. We look forward to seeing how this could work.

"Drones can also help us gather evidence to support a prosecution, for example taking aerial photographs of a road traffic collision or crime scene. We will be interested to see how this technology could assist."

Each drone will be controlled by a fully trained Operator who has physical responsibility for the direction and control of the aircraft. A second person referred to as an Observer is responsible for operating the photographic equipment attached to the device.

The data the drones gather will be held on a stand alone system within West Mercia Police accessible by both forces. The rules that govern the storage of information are the same as body worn video and CCTV.

Some people have been injured by drones and the police say that procedures are being put in place to prevent this.

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Nav Malik added: "Whilst there are a lot of benefits to the use of drones, we are keen to reassure the public that public safety is of paramount importance at all times. Policies and procedures have been put in place to ensure that air operations using these small drones are carried out safely, ethically and in accordance with relevant CAA regulations."

Members of the Shropshire community may fear that police drones, if introduced into full time use, maybe misused, but Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Ball says independent scrutiny will help prevent this.

Mr Ball said: "If, how and when drones are to be used in policing are not purely operational decisions. It is important that drones are used in clearly defined ways and that the public is reassured that the police will not use the technology inappropriately to spy on them or undertake any kinds of covert surveillance unless there is an appropriate authority in place. I am pleased therefore that the independent Trust, Integrity and Ethics Committee is taking the opportunity to scrutinise the policies around their use and offer their feedback, prior to the trial commencing."

The idea of the trial is to establish if the devices are value for money and to gain feedback from officers and the public – if the outcome is positive, then more widespread deployment could be considered. It is believed that the devices could be used in some cases as an alternative to the costly police helicopter.

Barrie Sheldon, Deputy PCC for West Mercia, looked forward to the trial: "This trial is to be welcomed and I hope it will help to establish what significant savings the Force can make by using them instead of paying the high costs of sending up helicopters. We face ever growing financial challenges and drones may be one way to help the Force be even more efficient in its working practices while still offering an excellent service to the public."

Following the trial the results will be evaluated and used to support the decision of whether SUAs will be formally adopted by the Alliance.