How police are using drones to bust crime gangs, tackle hare coursing and save lives

Whether it be breaking up crime gangs, hunting down hare courses or spotting burglars, a drone in the right hands can make a huge difference.

And that’s not to mention the ability to literally save lives, as was witnessed recently in Crowland where a man dying of hypothermia following a road crash was spotted in a field and rescued thanks to the device.

Special Sergeant Kevin Taylor, chief pilot for the Lincolnshire Police Drone Unit, explained to the Peterborough Telegraph how drones have made a huge difference to the force’s operations.

“We can find cannabis farms which often lead us to organised crime gangs,” he said.

“For hare coursing we are able to gather evidence, and when they try to disappear from us we can track them down.

“When we conduct warrants we will look at properties and the points of entry and exit. We can make sure no escapes the property.

“Car thieves and burglars, if they’ve gone into hiding we can send up the thermal imaging. If there’s a burglary in process we can put the drone up.

“We’ve had a lot of success. It gives us new capacity we’ve never had.”

Lincolnshire Police set up a dedicated drone unit in March 2017 which became operational six months later after being approved by the Civil Aviation Authority.

But despite the unit being operational for more than two years police are still conscious of the bad reputation drones have in the minds of many who may feel nervous seeing them being used nearby.

“It’s like kitchen knives - they’re really good to use, but when people use them for the wrong reason there’s a stigma,” said Special Sergeant Taylor.

“Drones have suffered from that, but when used properly they can make a big difference to the quality of life.

“We’re using them to help keep the community safe - it really does work and the cost is not especially extensive. 

“There’s a bad press for drones but we want public acceptance that what we are doing is good. People might think there is an ulterior motive, but we haven’t got one. We just want to help the community stay safe and save lives.

“In the UK you are required to keep drones in your line of site but there are exemptions for scenarios where a life is in danger.
“We take the drone to the scene and a pilot will be operating the camera and looking at the footage.
“It’s standard equipment anyone can buy off the shelves.”

The drone unit was given £30,000 to begin with. There are currently two teams, with one in Boston and one in Lincoln, but plans are afoot to double this to four.

Pilots are officers in the force who have to pass theory and practical exams before then combining their duties.

“It’s a proven business case. For the money we’ve spent its proven to pay returns on a fantastic scale,” enthused Special Sergeant Taylor.

Drones were recently utilised to tackle flooding in the county with the devices used to inspect banks, feed information back and monitor progress of sandbagging.

Drones also went up over Christmas markets to make sure no crimes were being committed, while a man growing cannabis was caught out and later jailed for three years thanks to drone footage.

But perhaps their most significant use so far has been in searches for missing people, including the discovery of an Alzheimer’s patient in a field.

“When a life is saved it makes it worthwhile,” added Special Sergeant Taylor.

Cambridgeshire police also uses drones in its operations, and a spokesperson told the PT: “We have drone capability across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire which we use for a range of different types of incidents including high risk missing persons, firearms operations and planned operations.”

Factfile

The Lincolnshire Police Drone Unit was set up in March 2017 and became active in September that year once it was approved by the Civil Aviation Authority.

There are two teams – one based in Lincoln and one in Boston with five people on each team.

Officers carry out regular policing duties but are brought in when required to fly the drones.

They are all trained to commercial standard. They receive five days of initial training and have to pass theory and practical exams before being qualified to use the drones.

They will then receive specialist training such as search and rescue.

The force has spent £30,000 so far on its drone teams – £16,000 of which was on thermal imaging cameras.