Eyes in the Sky for Cleveland Police as Drones are Launched

Cleveland Police has launched a new drone capability to help save lives and stay one step ahead of criminals on Teesside.

The ‘eyes in the sky’ will be used for specialist policing operations, to find missing people and to help with looking at crowd dynamics. 

Nine pilots have been trained to industry standards and there will be drones available within the Force at all times.

The heat sensing camera helps officers to search large areas very quickly, such as woodlands, which is more efficient and uses less officer time. There is also live feeds into control room, so senior police officers managing incidents can see images as things unfold. 

The Force will still call on the NPAS helicopter if necessary, but the drones are another tool at the police’s disposal to fight crime and protect vulnerable people.

Drone pilots will use their social media to tell the public when a drone has been used through the new Twitter page @dronespolice, and there will be signs near to the drone operator. 

The drones were used on 22nd January in response to ongoing reports of suspected poaching near to Redmarshall and Stillington Villages. 

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Graham said: “Adopting drones is the next step for us in tackling crime. Not only can they be in the air within minutes, the images can be used to help direct officers on the ground, which is really important when we look for missing people.

“Our cops will be given continual training and they have tested the equipment. We’re using drones in a really open way with the aim of preventing and detecting crime and keeping people safe.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Barry Coppinger said: “I’m delighted that one of the key commitments of my Police and Crime Plan has been delivered. As criminals use more sophisticated technology to bring harm to our communities, it’s important that the police invest in new technology to keep residents safe.

“A drone capability will allow Cleveland Police to strengthen their current air support capacity, providing a more flexible and rapid response to a range of incidents and with the potential to cover large areas with fewer resources.

“I will check in regularly with the Chief Constable to ensure this new technology is being used to maximum benefit to protect the people of Cleveland.”

See the video of our Drones in action on our social media pages.