High-Tech Police Drone Takes Nottinghamshire Crime Fight to New Heights
A cutting-edge police drone has just hit the skies above Nottinghamshire, supercharging the county’s crime-busting efforts. The drone unit, shared with Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service and launched in January 2020, has already proven its worth. It tracked down 13 high-risk missing people, helped nab dozens of suspects, and captured crucial video evidence.
Drone Upgrade Doubles Crime-Fighting Power
The team has bagged a brand-new main drone, the DJI Matrice 300, doubling its operational capacity. This beast boasts better battery life, toughness, speed, and range. It’s armed with a thermal camera that zooms in 200 times, spotting heat signatures from nearly a mile away. Plus, it has a powerful spotlight, target-tracking on maps, and a laser range finder giving pinpoint location data from up to 1,200 metres.
With 17 pilots training to pilot the new drone, it’s ready to roll for real missions.
Chief Constable Hails Drone as a Game-Changer
“This really is a state-of-the-art piece of equipment that is set to make life even harder for criminals,” said Nottinghamshire Chief Constable Craig Guildford.
“Our drones help track down suspects, support officers during large events, and find vulnerable missing people. It’s also a vital tool shared with the fire service.”
Guildford highlighted the force’s embrace of new tech, from body cams to mobile fingerprint scanners, calling the extra drone investment a smart move against crime.
Drone Team Chief Excited by New Tech and Future Prospects
Chief Pilot PC Vince Saunders said: “The new drone lets us deploy our best gear simultaneously, boosting support for officers on the ground.”
“Its hot-swappable batteries cut downtime to seconds, so we stay airborne longer, track suspects more accurately, and open new opportunities to follow tricky targets.”
Based at Sherwood Lodge HQ in Arnold, the drone squad now operates four drones ready to deploy anywhere in the county at a moment’s notice. Their missions range from crowd control and illegal off-road bike monitoring to 2D and 3D crime scene mapping.
Recent wins include arresting a crossbow-wielding sheep shooter and seizing several illegal dirt bikes during a major police crackdown.
The Future of Police Drones Looks Sky-High
PC Saunders says the drone revolution is only just beginning. “Fixed-wing drones may soon extend our reach beyond line of sight, more like helicopters but cheaper and more flexible,” he predicted.
Nottinghamshire’s drone team is flying high, battling crime with tech that’s sharp, fast, and ready to outsmart criminals anytime, anywhere.
