Los Angeles updates police drone policy
The rule changes will allow police in the US city to conduct a wider range of missions using the remotely piloted aircraft
The city of Los Angeles, California, has updated its policies to allow police to use drones in more situations.
The Los Angeles Police Commission has approved an updated policy for law enforcement drone operations, allowing the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to deploy uncrewed aircraft on routine emergency calls.
This includes “calls for service”, as well as high risk incidents, investigative purposes, large-scale events, and natural disasters.
Alongside the updated policy, the commission transferred command of LAPD’s drone fleet from the Air Support Division to the Office of Special Operations.
Prior to the changes, LAPD’s nine drones were restricted to a limited set of situations – such as sieges and bomb threats.
The city of Pattaya, Thailand recently announced plans for a new police drone fleet.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca was a Junior Editor at the Voyageur Group. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.