In a move that is at once “fine,” “good,” and “very cool,” Victoria Police has announced it will launch a fleet of drones next month that will be used to monitor crowds at AFL games, among other things.
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Victoria Police is currently celebrating the successful launch of the service’s first-ever drone unit; a fleet of up to 70 drones that have the ability to fly 24/7, possess night vision, and will be utilised by police officials to monitor emergency situations and during search and rescue operations, but they will also reportedly be used to monitor crowds at “high risk” public events.
Drones were high on the wish-list for police officials this year, with the hope being that they could be used to monitor crowds from the air at football games – finals in particular – as well as at major public and music festivals, according to The Age.
The new unit will be manned by “dozens” of officers, who will be “trained” to operate the new equipment over the coming months.
VIC Police Inspector Craig Shepherd noted that the drones will help police increase their “situational awareness.”
The introduction of this unit is expected to enhance the work our police do every day, from attending crimes scenes, managing emergency situations, public order management, search and rescue and situational awareness.
The drones we plan to use will have a 24/7 ability, with high end technology allowing for both day and night camera vision.
This move follows similar initiatives lead by police forces in countries like the United States and France, both of whom are clearly gold standards when it comes to police responses to monitoring the public.
In September of last year, when the plan was first floated, then-counter terrorism boss Ross Guenther noted that the drones could potentially be used to monitor unattended bags at outdoor concerts.
If you have a concert in the park, you put a backpack down but walk on, a drone will stay on that and send images back to the police command post. We really are in the Jetsons-type age right now.
Great stuff!
