Small, unmanned aircraft systems, commonly known as drones, have demonstrated massive potential in the military, government, and private sectors. These small propeller-driven aircraft can be remotely piloted and used to perform many tasks and carry additional tools such as cameras and lights. However, there has been a sometimes-justified concern of an ever-increasing surveillance state. At the same time, drug cartels utilize drones to move drugs across the southern U.S. border and monitor U.S. Border Patrol agents. With internet shopping promising immediate delivery of purchases, the world is witnessing in near real-time drones being used in modern European battlefields against conventional infantry and armored vehicles, once thought to be protected from such small devices.
Many counterinsurgency and reconnaissance schools teach how to avoid detection by drones and how to conduct counter-drone warfare operations. However, some people may overlook the positive applications of drone operations. As technology advances, so do laws, policies, and training. For example, law enforcement drones deployed properly can save time, money, and, most importantly, lives. They can be used in search operations, deployed to quickly document crime scene investigations, and used to check rooftops, corners, and hidden areas for suspects evading law enforcement.
Drone operations fall under the rules outlined in the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Title 14, Part 107 – Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems. However, over the years, policies and laws have begun to allow drone deployment day or night without prior FAA approval. In some cases, organizations may have conducted emergency nighttime operations previously and informed the FAA of the emergency. In other circumstances, they needed prior authorization, which could have taken 30 days or more. The process is now easier for certified operators and pilots to deploy these tools immediately.
Increasing Public Safety Applications for Drone Technology
A growing deployment opportunity for drone teams is for search and rescue operations, which can occur in wilderness environments away from civilization or urban and suburban environments. Once someone goes missing in any city, the vast number of open fields, wooded areas, parks, apartment complexes, trails, and numerous other places where a person can hide, get lost, or be unseen quickly becomes apparent to search teams.
For example, a significant realization emerged while volunteering on a ground team in the Rocky Mountains and later working for a suburban law enforcement agency at the edge of a major metropolitan area. Anyone could find themselves in the wilderness after walking for just an hour. However, it could take up to an hour to mobilize local search and rescue teams that need time to respond and get briefed.
Because of time and environmental factors, it is critical to begin search and rescue operations immediately when a person goes missing. Response times can take at least an hour. Temperatures in certain areas can drop drastically once the sun goes down or rises suddenly during the day. For example, when someone sweats all day, their core body temperature can drop through the night with life-threatening implications. For visibility, daytime operations are easier than those performed at night.
With drones, searches can start immediately while waiting for search and rescue teams to assemble. In one case, an operator was able to search nearby construction areas, open fields, and wooded areas for a missing child. Even though that drone was not equipped with advanced capabilities and the information transmitted back had to be confirmed by ground personnel several times, the drone picked up anomalies in the area to help locate the child hiding in the woods.
In another case, a suicidal adult went missing on foot after dark. He entered a wooded area and crossed a river into a neighboring jurisdiction. Through a mutual aid agreement, the drone operator responded and sent the drone across the river. In such cases, responders should use caution when someone is a danger to themselves because they may also pose a danger to others. With low visibility and many potential hazards, the drone offered a quicker and safer way to locate, approach, and verify the person than sending a search team.
Traditional law enforcement K-9s also would not be ideal for such search and rescue operations and pose a liability to the agency. These K-9 units are frequently trained as “bite” and “drug” dogs to search for suspects, detain them, and look for contraband rather than dogs specifically trained to search for victims. Although direct data is not readily available, most law enforcement agencies in city and suburban areas do not have specially trained search and rescue dogs and would have to request outside sources.
As a search-and-rescue tool, drones can almost immediately shrink a search area. They are maneuverable in and around buildings, apartment complexes, and neighborhoods. In addition, modern lighting and battery technology can be attached to drones while maintaining lighter weight and increased battery power efficiency, for example:
- Forward-looking infrared night vision cameras utilize and enhance existing light in an area to see clearly in extremely dark environments.
- In areas where no light can be enhanced (often inside buildings or on dark nights), other lighting sources can assist, such as infrared lighting, which is not visible to the naked eye. This lighting can also be used for night vision optics if necessary.
These technologies look for the infrared signature in thermal energy or heat while utilizing different colors to represent thermal temperatures in that spectrum. Everything on the planet gives off a level of heat – from cold items like ice to hot items like fire – including humans, who have their own level of thermal energy on the heat spectrum. Fire departments frequently use a similar tool to check walls for heat in homes. This tool is effective day or night and can be more helpful than direct optics or cameras in identifying heat signatures in open fields, wooded areas, or other areas. Bright spotlights attached to drones can also help confirm what the forward-looking infrared or night vision sees during searches. These lights can also signal to people on the ground. Each tool has a unique function, so none should be sacrificed for the other.
First-Hand Accounts of Successful Drone Applications
The search for missing children is tedious. However, once drone operators began responding to reports such as missing children cases, support for drones has grown. Law enforcement agencies realized how quickly a minimal number of officers could check open fields and other locations.
In a personally observed example, even at night with scattered trees and other obstructions, a single drone operator checked an undeveloped field the size of eight city blocks within minutes. Similar searches of the same field took four officers over an hour to conduct. Another time-saving scenario occurred when the SWAT team was serving a search warrant at a drug house. On that call, the drone’s primary purpose was to check for dangers around the house and anyone escaping. However, when announcements for everyone to exit the residence were unsuccessful, the drone was able to assist. The drone operator lowered the device to window height along the fence line and turned on the spotlight. Even though this occurred during daylight hours, people immediately exited the residence as instructed.
The drone was also a time-saver for mapping crime scenes and taking crime-scene photos. Other added technology helped to measure rooms, roads, and intersections for more accurate documentation. Motor vehicle crash scenes started being documented in this manner for major crashes, which lessened the time it took for roadways to be closed and increased the investigators’ safety by exposing them to fewer traffic hazards.
Safeguards and Limitations for Using Emerging Technologies
Although the tasks regarding drone use are somewhat limitless, they still must follow FAA regulations. Line of sight, altitude, weather, marker lighting, and controlled airspace are major limiting factors. One limitation includes no drone access to a high-threat area. For example, a building within the FAA Class C Controlled airspace would have limited drone operation applications around that complex, even if it is a high-risk area with numerous SWAT or other public safety responses.
As with any tool, it can be difficult to explain the tool’s limitations to an administrator who expects more than simply enhancing their ability. In search operations, for example, drones are not a substitution for ground teams, K-9 units, or other air assets that include observation and radio relays. A lack of knowledge about these limitations can result in administrators requesting actions that are against the law or against FAA regulations, such as attaching something to the drone, flying it out of sight, or doing something else with the equipment.
Operators must know what is allowed in their area and politely explain these limitations to administrators as needed. Basic FAA laws include requirements that drones fly no more than 400 feet above ground when there is no controlled airspace, yet they must remain at least 500 feet below cloud cover. Drones must have marker lights on at night, must yield to manned aircraft, and limit their speed to no more than 100 miles per hour. The drone operator also must maintain a line-of-sight visual of the drone. These are just a few of the FAA rules, but operators must be familiar with additional laws and restrictions within each jurisdiction where drone response is requested. Any leader in charge of a drone unit should also attend training and stay apprised of the regulations and capabilities of the equipment.
Avoid Crossing the Line
Most uses mentioned above are supplemental for enhancing response, increasing first responder safety, providing better public service, and improving search operations – whether for an endangered missing person or a suspect who is a danger to the public. Implementing a drone program costs money, with an average startup cost of $15,000 for a police department, according to dronefly.com in 2021. However, compare this to the cost of a helicopter. In Ohio, for example, Hamilton Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey reported in 2022 that “choppers cost the county $3 million a year, while 15 drones will only cost $300,000 and require little maintenance.” When agencies update their budgets and plans, they should consider including this tool in their future operations as drones can save taxpayer money, increase safety with fewer resources, and distance responders from immediate threats.
Of course, there tends to be a fine line between promoting public safety and building revenue. For example, when there is a sudden uptick in vehicle accidents, safety issues, or traffic problems, a drone could monitor and potentially assist in evidence gathering. However, using drones specifically for routine traffic or equipment violations such as red-light enforcement, expired plates, cracked windshields, or broken tail lights may cross a line that could diminish public trust and the ability to gain support for needed equipment. In these long-term or routine scenarios, a permanent observational camera would be more practical to watch for problems and collect data.
Although the public safety function of drones is almost limitless, they are tools that require proper training and must follow current laws and procedures, including FAA Rules and Regulations under Part 107, federal, local, and state laws, the jurisdiction’s municipal code, the policies and procedures of the agency, and best practices and training for public safety drone operators. To build a robust drone program that promotes public safety and assists first responders, organizations and agencies must be cautious and use drones to improve public trust and rapport rather than become a topic of contention. Agencies can leverage public affairs and social media with the public to build trust and share information about drones aiding in investigations, missing person searches, etc. With so many benefits for incident response, it is critical for drones to avoid the negative “big brother” effect by being used responsibly and promoted as a valuable public safety tool.
Kevin Jones
Kevin Jones, CPP, is a school protection specialist and security manager. He spent nearly 20 years in law enforcement before starting work in a school district and more than a decade as a crisis and hostage negotiator. He was also a firearms instructor, investigator, and supervisor. Jones regularly conducts threat assessments and intelligence reports and is passionate about crisis intervention, de-escalation, and early intervention. He maintains his remote pilot license and has helped to develop and implement a drone unit with his previous organization.
