"A trial now under way in Islington involves drones feeding intelligence both to officers in a control room and on the ground, the force said. Civil liberty campaigners like Big Brother Watch have previously described the use of drones by police as "sinister", however Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, the national lead for drones, said: "This isn't surveillance. This is to support policing operations on the ground." He added that any footage not needed for use in evidence would be deleted after 28 days."
"The Met aims to roll the project out to the West End and Hyde Park by the end of the year. The force told the BBC that the new drones were quicker, quieter, cheaper and more environmentally friendly than police helicopters, while delivering the same operational results. Drones will be launched only as a response to a 999 call, the Met added, and will be piloted by trained operators remotely from the force control room."
The Metropolitan Police is trialing remotely launched drones to support emergency responses by streaming intelligence to both control-room staff and officers on the ground. Drones are intended to arrive within two minutes and assist in searching for missing people, tracing suspects, and capturing evidence. The devices are housed in rooftop boxes charging and will be launched only in response to 999 calls and piloted by trained remote operators. The force says drones are quicker, quieter, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly than helicopters. Civil liberty groups have raised privacy concerns; non-evidential footage will be deleted after 28 days.
Read at www.bbc.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]