Portland Police launch drone program

The program began on 13 June, and will utilize seven drones operated by 16 certified pilots. It follows the approval of $80,000 of funds to support the program by Portland City Council in April.

After one year of operation, PPB will present a report assessing the success of the program to the council.

The drones are intended to be used in four categories of operations: critical incidents, search and rescue, explosive disposal, and traffic collisions. The program will initially focus on exploring the use of the aircraft in the latter two fields, for the duration of the one-year period.

Speaking to local television station KPTV, Sergeant Jim DeFrain said that the drones could be used in the event of traffic collisions to survey the site of incidents, allowing situations to be managed more efficiently. “We believe it has the potential to take an interstate freeway closure that would take about four hours, and knock that down to an hour, or an hour and a half, and be able to reopen,” he said.

The drones would also allow police to gather information on suspicious items from a distance and investigate the area for secondary devices.

Air Methods subsidiary Spright trialed the use of drones in Oregon for the delivery of medical supplies last year.