‘The best role in the police’: Drone pilot reflects on busiest year yet for unit

12 March 2025

Like most of Nottinghamshire Police’s drones unit, Ashley (Ash) Edwards performs fluid duties between piloting the technology and a separate role.

Alongside part-time work in the unit he joined in 2020, Ash is an Ollerton-based response officer, roughly dividing his responsibilities in a 50-50 split.

The Force unit offers full-time drone coverage around the clock which is much needed when 2024 was the unit’s most demanding year yet.

“The other thing that enables us to be a 24/7 operation is the passion and dedication we have for the drones,” Ash said.

Ashley (Ash) Edwards with two of the drones.

“For me, the unit had recently started up and I was interested in becoming a pilot because it sounded so exciting. I’d never used a drone before, but had always been enthusiastic about gadgets and video games around flying.

“I’m very happy I was able to become a part of the team. It’s been an incredible five years and we are always doing and achieving more.”

Drone use has been one of the most innovative strategies in law enforcement in recent years.

Public order

In Nottinghamshire, drones have helped with missing people and general area searches, crowd control in public order incidents, and on-foot pursuits of suspects leaving vehicles.

And there has been plenty of development in other areas too.

“We now work with the firearms department on armed deployments. For example, if officers are surrounding a marked building, we can provide them with situational awareness by livestreaming the drone footage,” he continued.

“Another big job for us has been the use of thermal cameras on the drones to monitor cannabis cultivation, to help the Force gather intel on this activity.”

In 2024 there were nearly 500 hours of drone flight time logged within the Force.

New tools were introduced – firstly, a police sports utility vehicle (SUV) adapted to contain a pre-constructed drone.

Drone

Often operated by Ash, the vehicle allows a device to be put into the air significantly more quickly than a traditional drone, which must be assembled for each use, and features the unit’s fastest WiFi signal yet.

Another addition has been infrared night vision cameras, which the 48-year-old said has the biggest ‘wow factor’ of the unit’s facilities.

“I will never tire of what they [cameras] can do – they turn night-time into day-time for us,” he explained.

“We used to use thermal cameras for night operations, but these new ones have clarified our vision and made it HD. In the middle of nowhere, they can pick up landscape and agricultural features, humans, animals and more. 

“The car has been an excellent addition. Having a ready-made drone has hugely strengthened what we can do off road and in wet weather, and that’s what the drones are all about. Time is critical, and we always want to shorten the time between incident and response.”

A national project to extend the drones’ line of sight beyond its current limit of 500 metres is underway, which is potentially the next major game-changer.

Impact

Beyond this, the talented pilot has one simple desire: to see his unit become the UK’s next standalone, fully dedicated police drones team.

“I think it’s what we all want, really,” he said. “We are so passionate about the work we do and the impact we are making, and we just want that to grow and scale up as much as possible.

“I honestly love coming to work – I don’t even consider it work – and it’s the best role in the police, for me.

“It’s important to remember that drones don’t replace anyone or anything in the Force. They’re only here to work with them and provide more options for officers on the ground.”

Unit leader and chief pilot Vince Saunders added: “I feel in a very fortunate position to be shaping an area of policing that is really making a difference.

“Every day is a graft for us, but it is absolutely worth it. I take my hat off to the rest of the team, because there is a big onus on the other pilots, like Ash, to make their roles what they are – and they’re all doing a fantastic job.

“In 2024, we saw a real increase in calls for service and spontaneous call-outs, which reflects how we are becoming more and more relied on.

“This demand has been backed up by continued investment in equipment and facilities, which we massively appreciate. I think this shows the Force is seeing the value we are bringing to everyday policing, which is what we are always striving to do.”

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