The Chatham-Kent Police Services Board in Ontario, Canada (not the UK !) is thinking about getting an eye in the sky.The board heard a presentation at its reecent meeting in police headquarters in Chatham about the benefits of buying an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that can be used for everything from searching for missing persons to finding marijuana in local corn fields.
Essentially a small remote-controlled helicopter equipped with a video camera that provides information in real time, the report listed a variety of uses for the equipment, including aerial accident reconstruction, suspect apprehension, missing person searches with the help of thermal imaging to detect body heat, surveillance of armed and barricaded suspects, drug warrant execution, covert surveillance, crime scene photography, marine search and rescue, and in providing the fire service with an aerial view of buildings that are on fire.
Covert surveillance would require the approval of a judge.
The unit requires an operator, using a tablet device, as well as a spotter. Unlike a typical model remote control aircraft, which would require a high degree of skill from a pilot on the ground, UAS are more automated and don’t require as much flight training. They can be programmed to search a given grid, and return to the site of takeoff at the push of a button. Their operating range is about 3 km.
Police borrowed a similar aircraft for a missing person search in Wallaceburg. “You can do a search in less time and with less personnel,” said Inspector Trevor Crane to the board.
Deputy Chief Gary Conn said the unit could pay for itself in as little as two or three uses. The report recommends the purchase of an Aeryon Scout model with an upfront cost of $108,700 and annual operating costs.
Crane said the unit has an expected life of eight years, although batteries would need to be replaced after six years.
The board received the report for information and directed administration to seek funding from federal and provincial sources.
Source: Chatham Daily News