Employing drones prevents the loss of more expensive military equipment and more importantly, human lives.
Far from the front lines of that conflict, public safety departments in this state have begun to use drones as a cost-effective method to help patrol the communities they serve.
Interim Lowell Police Superintendent Barry Golner announced recently that the department has added a drone to its arsenal. It will be used to search for missing people, and will also assist with criminal investigations and emergency responses.
Det. Rob Richard, a 20-year veteran of law enforcement, and Det. Ed Davis IV, a nine-year vet, will be responsible for piloting the drone as part of the department's new Drone Unit.
The drone will be operated by a team of two officers, with Richard or Davis always piloting the drone and another officer serving as a visual observer.
The pair completed training through the Federal Aviation Administration in order to receive their remote-pilot licenses, which allows them to safely navigate the drone.
The department purchased the device — a DJI Matrice 300 — as well as eight battery packs that will enable it to continue flying almost indefinitely when needed. According to Deputy Superintendent Mark LeBlanc, the drone, along with its controller, camera and batteries, cost $27,400.
It comes equipped with a camera that has "a 100 times zoom," as well as infrared viewing capabilities that will allow police to search for heat sources at night and in low-visibility conditions.
The drone's use in criminal investigations and emergency responses must always be in accordance with the rules and regulations that police officers follow when conducting searches in person, including search and seizure, probable cause, and search warrants.
"We can't use the drone to see anything that an officer could not legally see with their own eyes," LeBlanc said. "Part of creating this unit was updating our policies and procedures to ensure we have a sound and legal foundation for drone operations."
The drone can also be used to map crime scenes or accident scenes, and to hover over a predetermined area during community events such as the Lowell Folk Festival.
"One of the most vital missions we have is to be the primary agency in charge when anyone goes missing in the city of Lowell, and this drone will significantly enhance our ability to conduct a search both rapidly and effectively," Golner said. "This is a tool that will greatly enhance our ability to find missing people, and we are pleased to be able to deploy it."
While an effective detection tool in urban environments like Lowell, drones may be even more useful in rural communities with much smaller police and fire departments confronted with large areas of open space.
The town of Harvard recently received a grant to purchase a drone, and emergency officials say it has paid immediate dividends.
"The capabilities — one is fast deployment; we can get this up and running within two minutes," Harvard Fire Chief Rick Sicard told NBC10 Boston. "We have seen the usefulness of this tool for multiple different emergencies."
Sicard says the drone helped during a large brush fire in a nearby community last year, giving the command post real-time data.
"Used the drone all day long to help command, see the whole perimeter of the fire, and what the firefighter efforts, the wind was shifting so, were able to see that all in real-time," he said. "You have the firefighter right there with incident command, you can see the screen, with the helicopter you don't usually get that communication, the helicopter sees what they say, but command can't see that."
A drone was also used to help find a missing Fairhaven woman earlier this month, and a missing hunter in Sudbury late last year. The Boston Fire Department also deployed a drone to view a massive fire at Suffolk Downs last May.
Harvard police have also put the town's drone to good use.
"Operationally, we see our drone deployed at least once a week, sometimes more," Harvard Police Chief James Babu said.
Babu says the drone can also fly in bad weather or low cloud-cover. Harvard police also use the drone to help map crash scenes.
"The technology of this for the cost, a fraction of the cost, of what the helicopter is," Babu said.
He says word is getting out, and Harvard's drone seems to be causing a buzz. Other departments have been calling Harvard as they look to launch their own drone programs.
Privacy and due-process concerns will always be a potential bone of contention, but when used properly, drones give law enforcement a nimble, low-cost way to serve and protect law-abiding citizens.
© 2023 Sentinel & Enterprise, Fitchburg, Mass. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
