West Mercia Police drones helping hunt for missing people

During the first week of a six-month trial by West Mercia Police, new drone technology has been used to support officers at five incidents including one in Shifnal and another in Bridgnorth.

Police used a drone to take "evidential photos" of a crash near Shifnal at the end of January that could be used to help a future prosecution.

Meanwhile, at the start of this month, Bridgnorth police officers were concerned for the welfare of two males whose vehicle had been involved in a road traffic collision but were no longer with the vehicle.

Officers used the drone to see if they were still in the area and while the drone did not locate the males, the incident was transferred to a neighbouring force for further enquiries to be made.

Inspector Damian Sowrey, who is overseeing the trial, said: "During the trial drones will be used in two ways – they may be deployed to an incident as a resource to assist or they may be used in a pre-planned operation for example to help manage public safety at an event.

"During the first week of the trial, despite challenging wet and windy weather conditions, the drone has helped us gather evidence by taking aerial photographs of road traffic collisions and also assisted officers search an area by providing an aerial view that can be viewed from the ground."

In total, the drone has been used at three separate crashes, helped officers in the search for a missing person and also for someone believed to have run off from a suspected stolen vehicle.

Inspector Sowrey added: "While there are a lot of benefits to the use of drones, we are keen to reassure the public that public safety is of paramount importance at all times.

"Policies and procedures have been put in place to ensure that air operations using these small drones are carried out safely, ethically and in accordance with relevant CAA regulations."

Each drone is controlled by a fully-trained operator who has responsibility for the direction and control of the aircraft. A second person known as an observer is responsible for operating the photographic equipment.

After the trial the results will be looked at and used to support the decision of whether SUAs will be formally adopted by the police forces.