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As part of its alliance Devon & Cornwall Police and Dorset Police have been utilising drones since 2015. Both forces were early adopters of the technology and the alliance created the first UK Police Drone Team.
Drones are unmanned aircraft that are controlled remotely – they were formally known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s) or unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
Drones support our policing activity; the equipment is fitted with high resolution cameras and thermal capabilities to help us target criminals and help keep you safe.
Our Drone Team consists of full time officers working from operating bases. There are also additional officers and Police Staff who can utilise the equipment.
Drone technology offers a highly cost-effective approach to missing person searches, crime scene photography, and responding to major road traffic collisions, but is not seen as a replacement to the NPAS helicopter.
Most drones rely on battery powered electric motors although they can be mechanically powered as well. The drones have a HD (high definition) downlink which means officers on the ground can see live video captured by the drone in the air. The video can also be shared with commanders in our force control rooms.
The operator is able to choose when to record video or images for review or retention later; the drone is not recording all the time it is in flight unless specifically required to do so.
All our pilots receive training and accreditation which is regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority. They will then go on to receive further emergency services specific training provided by our own internal police drone instructors. Our Drone Team instructors ensure that all our operators receive regular CPD training and there is an established governance and safety system in place to monitor operations.
We use drones in a variety of Policing contexts. The technology allows us to cover larger areas with less officers, to obtain images and information from different angles and to get views of areas where it would be dangerous to send a person. Some examples include:
In 2021 drones supported 553 incidents or investigations within Dorset, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (603 in 2020). In June 22 drones supported 78 individual incidents/investigations in one month alone.
All our drone operations are conducted in compliance with the relevant legislation and are overseen by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). We have been issued with an Operational Authorisation which allows us to fly in congested areas, and permits the overflight of people/premises, provided other conditions and minimum separation distances are met.
Under common law police officers and staff can make a recording and do not require your consent. However, operators will only record and keep data when it is proportionate, legitimate and necessary.
If data is captured and none of the retention requirements are met it will be deleted as soon as possible.
Drone data is handled in accordance with our existing data handling policies. It is effectively mobile CCTV. Strict legislation governs how we capture, store and retain data.
Data is only kept for as long as is necessary for a policing purpose or as mandated by other regulations.
Subject to certain exemptions, you have a right to be told whether any information is held about you and a right to a copy of that information. For more information about accessing the data please select HERE.
Do you comply with the principles of the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice?
Yes, the Alliance was among the first Police forces in the UK to gain formal accreditation regarding our use of drones. We are audited annually to ensure that we remain compliant.
For information on how to make a complaint please select here.
Our Drone Team has a presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. We warmly invite you to follow our accounts so that you can keep informed about how we are deploying the technology and some of the good results we have had.
When using a drone you are sharing the air with manned aviation and so safety is paramount. Flying a drone in contravention of the regulations is a criminal offence for which you can be prosecuted. Therefore, you should study the rules carefully before flying for the first time - all of the information can be found on the Remotely piloted aircraft and drones | Civil Aviation Authority (caa.co.uk)
We understand that the regulations can appear complicated and so as well as checking the CAA pages above, new users may also wish to: