By Tony O’Riley
Police and Crime Commissioner David Lloyd and council leader David Williams have jointly met to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on the use of the drone, The Eye Of Media.Com has heard.
The significant occasion came hours after the technological advantages of a drone helped cops find a missing high-risk and vulnerable 20-year-old man, who went missing at 2am wearing just shorts and boots. The young man was located by the drone metres away from a train track in Hemel Hempstead, suffering from hypothermia and in need of an ambulance.
Drones are normally only used by police in specific circumstances. One officer who spoke to The Eye Of Media.Com said :
”Drones are used as a mobile form of CCTV in the sky. It gives us wide visual access to areas in a very short time. . Police use drones to filming crime scenes, and monitor largely attended events like protests and football matches where the likelihood of crimes being committed is quite high”. Chief fire officer at Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, Darryl Keen, said: “The fire service uses a drone to give Incident Commanders an overview of the scene they are attending
“Having an aerial view of a fire scene can help us gauge the size of the emergency, whether we need more firefighters to support our response, as well as what tactics we should use to tackle the incident.”
Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner, David Lloyd, said: “This agreement marks another step the close collaboration between Police and Fire and Rescue Services, which will deliver benefits for residents now and for years to come.
“The successful drone operation to find the missing man last night, is the perfect example of how time, resources and ultimately lives can be saved with this new shared technology.”
The new UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) will be able to cover a distance seven times quicker than officers on foot. Each of the qualified officers have been trained under CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) regulation
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Leader of Hertfordshire County Council, David Williams, said: “This new agreement demonstrates yet another way that our fire service and the police are working together more closely.”
Leader of Hertfordshire County Council, David Williams, said: “This new agreement demonstrates yet another way that our fire service and the police are working together more closely.The replacement drone will have the capability of flying in all weathers and stay airborne for longer. It has a one hour flight time, a 50mph top speed and can be deployed in 30 seconds.
Inspector James Lacey, who has led the project for the police, added: “This is a very useful resource to be able to use when there is a threat to life. We have seen the benefits of it already and the new drone will increase our capacity to help.”