Nottinghamshire Police has set up a team of officers to pilot drones.
It has begun to use the technology in a collaboration with Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, enabling officers in both services to call for support on a 24/7 basis through the police control room.
The chief inspector of the control room will be responsible for assessing all requests and directing the drone vehicle to spontaneous incidents where authorised.
The drone team will also have a diary function allowing for planned operations to be supported by an additional drone unit.
Officers have been learning how to fly the drones in various environments and in day and night-time conditions.
Nottinghamshire Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford said: "We're very pleased to be able to introduce drones into our work as a force and make the most of their capabilities.
"I am very much looking forward to seeing the benefits that this technology will have for our officers in a number of areas of police work, and I want to thank everyone involved for their hard work on bringing this team to fruition."
Eye in the sky
Paddy Tipping, Nottinghamshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “The ‘eye in the sky’ will help to find missing people, deter and track down offenders, as well as providing greater coverage in more remote areas.
“People have told me that they were keen to see drones helping the police with their work so I was pleased that my budget for 2019-20 included this investment in technology.”
This is the latest example of police services beginning to use drones: over the past year initiatives have been unveiled by forces including North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Scotland.
In late 2018, research by the Department for Transport showed strong public support for the use of the technology in policing and other emergency responses.
