In today’s ever-more-technological world, the use of any type of remote tool that 1) minimizes risk to the law enforcement professional, 2) offers more intelligence and data used for decision-making, and 3) offers perspectives we cannot otherwise achieve at a reasonably low cost is almost mandatory to have. Further, if that tool provides you with evidence that can be saved and accessed for literally decades after the fact, it’s of even greater value. Enter the photographic and videographic value of aerial drones.
This article appeared in the July issue of OFFICER Magazine. Click Here to view the digital edition. Click Here to subscribe to OFFICER Magazine.
Ever since the beginning months of the war on terrorism in the Middle East, the term “drone” has evoked certain mental images, due to the most commonly used images by news media. The military-type drone capable of long flights, targeted strikes, etc. is often what most people think of. When those same people think about law enforcement having “drones”—and that’s what they imagine—they get quite upset because why would law enforcement need that? And they’d be correct in their thinking. On the other hand, if we understand the term “drone” as it truly is—simply a remotely controlled device—then that image and concern evaporates.
Remote controlled aerial drones provide a necessary tool in many facets of law enforcement operations today. From special operations (SWAT) to search and rescue to civil defense and crowd control, the aerial capabilities and intelligence provided are of high value. The requirements for the equipment as well as the training and licensing requirements for the officer(s) operating the drone(s) have to be taken into consideration. Additionally, there are legal restrictions on the use of the images captured dependent on the intended use and the location captured. Privacy and evidentiary rights may come into play.
One of the greatest strengths of a drone is that it can more easily go where human eyes can’t. If you need a roof-top view of a protest march on Main Street, you can send an officer up to the roof of the tallest building or you can launch a drone. The drone will have much greater mobility and can achieve a wider variety of viewing perspectives than a person at a fixed elevation can. If you need to see upstairs in a house where an armed and dangerous criminal may be hiding, you can send a whole entry team up those stairs (with lights and mirrors), or you can launch a drone. Equipped with a light and a streaming camera, you can get immediate data on where a bad guy might be—or is.
And if that bad guy plays skeet with your drone, shooting it out of the air with his weapon? First, he’s a good shot because not many people can do that without a shotgun. Second, drones can be insured and are fairly easy to replace through a new purchase. The same cannot be said of your human operators and sending them into risky situations where other options exist simply makes no sense—and is outright negligent.
Also keep in mind that a single drone can be equipped with variable light frequency cameras. Rather than a human having to carry IR, thermal and other viewing cameras with them, a single drone can have all those capabilities and the operator on the ground can just switch the functionality from the remote, often receiving/generating several different camera views offering different types of data in mere moments.
Obviously, the more capabilities you want in your agency drone, the larger it needs to be. The drone unit has to be capable of carrying its own weight (to include battery) as well as camera, light(s), communication and control transceivers. Drones vary greatly in what they will do and price is certainly a factor in that. Drones available on the non-law enforcement market will do a lot and link to a person’s cell phone. Such drones, via a Wi-Fi connection to the controller, can offer additional information about any photos taken as well as have some self-rescue features in the event of signal loss or controller failure.
Imagine have a still photo, or streamed video, that has data tags for altitude and GPS location. Imagine the evidentiary value of recon/warrant photos that have that GPS location along with date and time stamps. Imagine the power of “seeing” a barricaded gunman and being able to negotiate with him without having to expose any of your team members to a direct threat. That is the potential power of a drone; that and a lot more.
Let’s also not forget about “throwbots.” Though not usually referred to as drones because they aren’t of the aerial variety, these little robots have rudimentary controls and cameras built in. They can be delivered as the slang-name implies by simply throwing them into a room and then driven to face different locations. They are usually quite small, although capabilities can increase with size, and they are so lightweight that they can be used repeatedly on a given operation. Throw it, examine what you see; move in, pick it up, go to the next threshold and throw it again.
The observational power and intelligence gathering these tools offer shouldn’t be overlooked or considered “too expensive.” Consider the potential cost offset your agency will realize and the potential risk mitigation value. Add into that the potential value of increased capability in a drone during search and rescue operations. Instead of having to launch a helicopter and absorb that operational cost, launch a drone—or 10 of them—and have IR, thermal and normal down-looking vision in any given search area. Obviously, there are operating limitations in thickly forested areas, etc. but in most places the drone can fly above the trees and look down, allowing a single operator to clear acres of area at a time.
The one big restriction is flight time due to battery size and weight. That said, if you can fly a drone for 15 to 20 minutes (that’s a small drone) on a single charge and have five or six charged batteries available, you can get one to two hours of flight time—and that can cover a lot of search area. So if your agency hasn’t acquired a drone yet or is just considering standing a drone program up, we strongly recommend you take that step. Pick your officers and get them licensed. Get familiar with the FAA regulations and the legal ramifications (getting warrants, etc. for drone searches) and get the program launched—pun 100% intended and applicable.
This article appeared in the July issue of OFFICER Magazine.
