Police in Brighton fly night drone missions to halt sexual assaults

Police in the popular UK coastal city of Brighton have begun flying late-night drone patrols of the beachfront in an effort to halt a recent series of sexual assaults in the area.

Sussex police began deploying the drone above Brighton’s beach zone to monitor people leaving bars, clubs, and other nightspots, and keep watch of those considered potentially vulnerable to attackers. The UAV is equipped with a thermal sensor, spotlight, and speakers, and is primarily being deployed late Saturday and Friday. Those flights are designed, authorities said, to keep “people safe on a night out” by dissuading additional sexual assaults from occurring, and speeding police intervention in the event of violence.

Authorities transferred the drone from accident monitoring and suspect surveillance service in neighboring West Sussex to keep watch of Brighton’s beachfront – the scene of several rapes and other crimes in recent months. Its redeployment…