Law enforcement technologyIrish police consider deploying drones
Police in northern Ireland are considering deploying small surveillance drones to help combat crime and the dissident republican threat as an alternative to helicopters; with police suffering budget shortages, many agencies cannot afford the roughly £7 million, or $11 million, a year it takes to maintain a helicopter
Police in Northern Ireland look to drones as helicopter alternative // Source: tactical-life.com
Police in northern Ireland are considering deploying small surveillance drones to help combat crime and the dissident republican threat as an alternative to helicopters.
With police suffering budget shortages, many agencies cannot afford the roughly £7 million, or $11 million, a year it takes to maintain a helicopter.
Instead, agencies are turning to drones that cost £150,000, or $235,000, and run on batteries which can power the craft for as long as seven hours. In addition, the drones are small enough to fit in a backpack and could be deployed in minutes.
Police in northern Ireland are looking at a model that is outfitted with a camera that is capable of automatically tracking a subject in real time with a range of 1.9 miles and maximum speeds of 30 miles per hour.
In particular, police officials say the drones would prove most helpful in areas like the vast terrain of south Armagh.
So far several U.K. police agencies have already deployed drones with mixed results. Police in Liverpool recently crashed a drone in a river, and it was later discovered that the agency had not obtained the proper permits to fly it in civilian airspace.
Northern Irish police are currently reviewing drone technology, but have not made any immediately plans to purchase one.
