910 Out of 17,000 public safety agencies in the United States are currently flying drones.
What is a Public Saftey Agency?
A public safety agency has the primary goal of protecting the public and keeping them safe. There are thousands of federal, state and local public safety departments spread throughout the United States including:
- Fire & Rescue Services
- Ambulance and Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
- Federal, State & Local Law Enforcement Agencies
- Emergency communications (9-1-1 Call Center and First Responders)
- Inspections and code enforcement
- Animal Control
How Are Public Satefy Agencies Using Unmanned Drones?
Disaster Response
Drones can be used to provide portable emergency communications and networking to officers in areas where data and wireless have been severely damaged. Tethered communications drones can stay aloft for days at a time.
Tactical Response
As a SWAT or police team enter criminals’ homes, drones allow them an increased parameter control as well as a lookout for chasing criminals.
Crime Scenes
When documenting a crime scene exact measurements through photography must be made, taking up to hours when done on the ground. But with drone technology, this time is cut to minutes – increasing efficiency and eliminating human error.
Fire Safety
Drones are able to dramatically increase the visibility of situations. Firefighters have the ability to see structural fires and determine where it is unsafe before they enter.
Surveillance
Drones can be used to conduct surveillance for law enforcement agencies to aid in the catching or illicit activity such as narcotic or poaching.
Rescue Missions
Drones can be equipped with cameras (and infrared cameras for nighttime) in order to find people with dementia that have wandered off or lost children.
Accident Investigations
Photographing an accident can take up to several hours to get every single angle, every measurement and track indication, all while blocking traffic. With drones, this process can take only minutes – all within a .5 cm accuracy.
Lifesaving Situations
An example of this is when there was a victim drowning in the ocean, a drone was flown to drop a lifesaver float, taking seconds. Whereas a lifeguard swimming or taking a boat to the victim may take minutes.