We’ve read and seen some news over the past few months about some law enforcement agencies like the San Jose Police Department that have looked to bring in drones to their agency as a tool.
That set of a bit of a whirlwind over controversy that the agency was not making news of their acquisition public, and also violating the FAA in their pursuit of using drones for law enforcement activities. Their quote that “a uav is not a drone” was enough to highlight their lack of knowledge over what they were employing when the acquired the $7,000 drone.
Nonetheless, it can’t be overlooked that law enforcement seems to be a prime candidate for drone fleets. While every car has a dashboard camera, there are circumstances where more video documentation is needed, and the air can provide that.
To list a few, here are some practical applications of drones for law enforcement agencies:
– Car accident scenes
– Hostage situation
– Bomb squad
– Private investigation work
– Search/amber alert
And this may only be the start. Imagine if smaller, pocket-sized drones could be used to follow police officers into potentially dangerous situations, giving people real-time video feedback.
As they are beginning to say in just about every drone industry “the possibilities are endless”