The Norfolk police will be conducting trials, known as Project Eagle X, involving the use of drones for law enforcement purposes. The goal is for the drones to be stationed on buildings and operated remotely, allowing them to be deployed quickly to a scene in order to provide early information to the police. The hope is that the drones will be able to provide more accurate information on the scale of an incident than a member of the public who has called 999 and arrive at the scene more quickly than a helicopter. Norfolk was selected for the trials due to its limited access to the National Police Air Service, and similar trials are planned for the Thames Valley and Hampshire forces.
The use of drones for law enforcement purposes is not a new concept, as similar trials have taken place in San Diego and are also planned for Belgium and the Netherlands. Neil Sexton, an advisor to the National Police Chiefs’ Council on the use of drones, explained that the DFR (drone) would be able to sit autonomously on a roof in a city, and from a control station that receives a 999 call, it can be launched remotely to fly overhead of an incident and provide situational awareness. This information would be fed back to the control room and first responders on the ground. Additionally, the drones can potentially provide better situational awareness than phone calls from the public, particularly in situations where members of the public are under stress.
Currently, police forces in England and Wales use around 400 drones, but these cannot be flown out of the operator’s line of sight. The upcoming trials will take place in areas with closed-off airspace next year. If successful, the use of drones for law enforcement purposes could revolutionize the way the police respond to incidents, providing more accurate information and quicker response times, ultimately improving public safety and emergency response.
