THIS is one of the new eyes in the sky over Cumbria. It is one of two unmanned aerial vehicles – better known as drones – which police will use to help with their work.
They are flown by remote control by trained officers and will be used for a variety of purposes.
The two devices have both cost £2,300 and are being tested over a 12-month period.
See a video below showing footage filmed by one of the drones during a search for a missing person in Workington
They are fitted with cameras that can take still and moving images, which can be fed back to a screen on their remote controls.
They should be used in place of helicopters in many operations, saving the constabulary money as a result.
Chief Inspector Matt Kennerley said the drones could be a big asset to the force.
“Cumbria Constabulary have got two unmanned aerial vehicles,” he said. “We are looking to use them in day-to-day policing.”
One of the main uses for them will be in searches over the county’s wide open rural areas.
Ch Insp Kennerley explained that the drones will be able to fly over these areas and feed back aerial images to their controllers. This could be especially useful over dangerous areas such as coasts, where people can be put at risk on searches. They have already been used in the search for a missing man on the west coast.
He added that sometimes footprints can be better seen from the air. They could also be deployed to scenes of road traffic collisions to look at damage and help investigators piece together what happened, possibly cutting the amount of time for which a road is closed.
Should an armed stand-off ever take place in Cumbria – similar to the Raoul Moat incident in Northumberland in 2010, which saw police advance across a rural area towards an armed gunman – drones could also be used to help armed officers advance more safely.
The drones are off-the-shelf pieces of equipment. Anyone who wants to use them will go on a course run by manufacturers DJI and has to be aware of Civil Aviation Authority rules for operating them.
They can fly at up to 120m (just over 393ft) and travel at up to 35mph. Ch Insp Kennerley said: “We will not be flying them over congested areas.”
He added that they will mainly be flown in open rural or coastal areas with landowners’ consent. One of the 12 police officers who have been trained to fly the drones is PC Steven Wakefield, based in Carlisle.
He said: “I like to fly remote controlled planes for fun and these are easier to use. I think these are going to be incredibly useful.”
Cumbria’s police and crime commissioner Richard Rhodes added: “I think they are absolutely remarkable, it is just another example of how Cumbria Constabulary is investing in technology.”
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