New police drone vehicle is ‘huge boost’

2 August 2024

The introduction of a specially adapted drone car is a ‘game-changer’ for the Force, according to the sergeant leading the drone team.

Sergeant Vince Saunders has led the team since its inception in 2020 after an interest in the technology saw him train to become a pilot.

Creation of the team has resulted in the Force having a number of surveillance devices at their disposal which have, in turn, enhanced the role of police officers and helped them save lives.

Now, a police SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) has been fitted with a ready-made drone, becoming operational in early May.

Weather

Vince explained the benefits of the state-of-the-art vehicle: “While all the drones we already possess have had an incredible impact, they require officers to assemble them on the spot. The car drone, however, is fully assembled and ready to activate at a moment’s notice.

“This will save us precious minutes as we can get the drone into the air more quickly. It also boosts our overall capability of getting a drone into the air, which is sometimes stunted and made difficult with our other devices if adverse weather conditions make them too difficult to assemble,” he said.

Sergeant Vince Saunders.

Additionally, the new drone features an integrated StarLink connection, guaranteeing a high-speed, dependable WiFi signal which means pilots can stream live pictures anywhere in the county.

Vince continued: “This aspect of the drone will increase our resilience in congested networks, which is another huge boost.”

The 35-year-old, who contributes to the nationwide improvement of police drones on a performance working group at the National Police Chiefs’ Council, added the ground-breaking characteristics of the vehicle will assist his team in a variety of assignments and incidents.

Crowd disorders

“Our bread-and-butter missions are missing people, road traffic collisions, crowd disorders, and arrest attempts and warrants, among others,” he explained.

In 2021, officers used a drone to locate a person in a 1,000-metre field in Bassetlaw after they had been reported missing. The device’s camera managed to pinpoint the person who had overdosed by latching onto a tiny speck of heat.

“We have already had great success with our drones, and I am massively pleased to have this new apparatus. Technology is always advancing and getting better, and the team are delighted to be able to make this next step,” Vince ended.

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