WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. – A police power in Colorado is discovering new methods to unravel crimes with drones.
The Wheat Ridge Police Department mentioned since they introduced drones to their division in April, they’ve been in a position to make use of them to answer totally different 911 calls virtually day by day.
Alex Rose, the police division’s public data officer, mentioned they’re enthusiastic about their drone’s capabilities, which embrace serving to preserve officers secure.
“Every day is a new opportunity for our department to see where we can take this technology,” Rose mentioned.
Rose mentioned the division is pushing the bounds of what their drones are able to. He mentioned a group of round 10 officers are educated on tips on how to use the drones.
When they determine to ship a drone to an space, officers are in a position to make use of a GPS monitoring system to see the place the drone is launched from, and a dwell image of the place the drone is flying.
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Sgt. John Bowman, the drone course director for Wheat Ridge police, mentioned the division’s drones even have Zoom options.
“It takes a lot of practice. A lot of patience. A lot of repetition. But these camera systems and these operating systems cover lots of different areas,” Bowman mentioned.
The police division mentioned one in every of their drones lately caught any person breaking into an condo. In June, a upkeep employee referred to as their division, saying they noticed some intruders inside an condo. Instead of sending an officer, they despatched a drone.
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After acquiring a warrant, the drone went inside the house to research. Rose mentioned the drone discovered a canine and an individual sleeping in a closet. The individual was arrested, and the investigation is ongoing, police mentioned.
Wheat Ridge police mentioned their drones additionally assist with investigating automotive crashes and monitoring giant crowds like at festivals.
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Dr. Matthew Guariglia, a senior coverage analyst on the Electronic Frontier Foundation, mentioned that some cities have very strict guidelines about when and the way police can use drones, whereas different cities within the nation don’t have any laws.
“This is a big concern because right now courts are very divided on, for instance, whether or not a police department can fly a drone over your house or over your property with or without a warrant,” Guariglia mentioned.
Wheat Ridge police say they needed to test with their district legal professional earlier than flying drones, and that they’re one in every of not less than 20 departments in Colorado utilizing them.
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“It is new technology, and so we are constantly looking at what are other departments doing. Is there any case law that is concerning this and other jurisdictions,” Rose mentioned.
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Wheat Ridge is a western suburb of Denver.
Wheat Ridge Police in Colorado mentioned their drones assist them resolve crimes virtually on a regular basis.