The Metropolitan Police are launching remote drones from the tops of buildings to respond to 999 calls as part of a new trial to improve their response to emergency situations.
Fitted with high-definition cameras, the machines will fly autonomously to crime scenes and stream live footage to officers on the ground.
Scotland Yard hopes that this will provide quicker intelligence to aid a variety of situations, including real-time descriptions of a suspect’s appearance and helping with missing person searches.
They will also be deployed during major incidents, to provide a better aerial view which can help guide the emergency service response.
It is hoped that drones will be able to start feeding information within two minutes of being deployed, making them quicker and cheaper than launching helicopters.
The pilot scheme, pioneered by the NPCC, has initially launched in Islington, with plans to introduce it across the West End and Hyde Park before the end of the year.
Other police forces have already begun rolling out the scheme, including Norfolk Constabulary, West Midlands Police, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary and Thames Valley Police.
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, the national lead for drones, said: “Our Drone as First Responder programme will see police resources arriving at crime scenes across London quicker. They will assist in tracing trace suspects, locate locating missing people and delivering intelligence to our officers as they respond to Londoners when they need us most.
“We are building a Met that is more precise and efficient than ever before, and this new technology gives us a vital new tool to tackle crime in the capital.”
Superintendent Taryn Evans, who leads the NPCC Drones Programme and the pilot for the Met, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to bring the many benefits and efficiencies of the Drone as First Responder programme to London, supporting both officer and community safety.
“We’ve been running trials of the programme in several different police forces with a range of operating environments from urban to rural and the technology has proven a gamechanger in many incidents.
“This pilot with the Met brings together our two years of learning and development and I look forward to seeing how it can enhance the operational response.”
