Cops in the eastern England city of Norfolk have gotten with the aerial tech program in a big way. After introducing drones into its operational assets less than three years ago, Norfolk’s police force deployed the craft in nearly 1,500 missions in the past year.
In its annual activity report spanning 2020-2021, the Norfolk Constabulary said it had flown its drones in police work or in support of fire services 1,484 times, compared to 657 during the first full year of operating the craft. Missions ranged from monitoring COVID-19 restriction compliance to detecting illegal marijuana farms, and halting wildlife abuse to searches for missing people. Officials said those sorties included 329 pre-planned flights, and 1,226 in response to reports of ongoing crimes like burglary, car theft, firearm offenses, or staging of unauthorized music events.
Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner Giles Orpen-Smellie applauded the increased police use of drones, and said he…
