Police Trial Drones as First Responders

The Benefits of Drone in a Box Technology

The DJI Dock 2 was recently used in a police trial, deploying on demand to provide real-time situational awareness during a missing person case. 

The trial aimed to help develop plans for police to use drones as first responders (DFR).

The National Police Chiefs’ Council says that using drones as first responders can enhance public and officer safety. As well as this, the technology offers an opportunity for police on the ground to be more effectively deployed elsewhere. This would help to ease the strain on police officers across the country, whilst also improving response times and services.

The Trial

The DJI Dock 2 drone in a box was deployed from a rooftop at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich. It helped search for a man playing the role of a missing person.

The demonstration comes as part of a national trial set up by the Home Office and the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC). It is running in phases and will test the DFR concept.

The trial was carried out under standard visual line of sight rules, with the drone sending back real-time imagery to an officer, who watched the footage in a police van nearby.

Superintendent Taryn Evans, strategic lead for the NPCC's Drones team, highlighted the importance of the Norfolk trial in demonstrating the effectiveness of DFR in responding to 999 calls. 

She noted that each trial helps test DFR in various environments, enhancing public and officer safety. According to her, drone-in-a-box operations could benefit area searches, road incidents, town centres, public order, and the night-time economy, providing a critical advantage by delivering live images within the first few minutes.

Supt Evans said that she doesn't anticipate that drones as first responders will replace any standard police response. But she said that the drone can be deployed at a moment's notice to provide rapid live awareness to shape incident response.

The Future of DFR

The Norfolk trial is not unique; there are four trials taking place across the country.

The first, led by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary and Thames Valley Police, was conducted at the Isle of Wight Festival, where a simulated DFR solution was deployed alongside routine police drone resources.

It’s said this will be replicated by a number of other large-scale events towards the end of summer. 

Another trial is also said to go ahead later in 2024 with West Midlands Police.

Conclusion

The work regarding the trials is centred around improving existing operations, as opposed to replacing standard practice in police force response. Specifically optimising the use of the 400 drones already used by UK police officers, operated within visual line of sight (VLOS).