Drone will be police’s eye in the sky
By by Adrian Darbyshire adrian.darbyshire@iomtoday.co.im Twitter:@iomAdrian in Crime
Police are looking to recruit an eye in the sky to support front line operations.
The force is advertising for expressions of interest from suppliers who can provide a drone facility. They will provide a 24-hour call-out to assist with road traffic collisions, area searches and crime scene investigations.
The drones will capture video footage and still images and be able to provide a live video feed as well as a live time thermal image feed.
They will need to be able to operate in a range of environments including bad weather conditions.
The initial term of contact will be 12 months and the applicants must have all appropriate Isle of Man Civil Aviation permissions.
Introduction of drone technology is part of the digital strategy launched by the constabulary in 2016, with other planned innovations including body-worn cameras, mobile speed detection cameras and automatic number plate recognition.
Chief Constable Gary Roberts said the force’s vision is to use technology to predict, respond to and ultimately to prevent crime.
Drone operators wishing to express an interest are asked to contact Inspector Allan Thompson at police headquarters in Douglas or email him at allan.thompson@gov.im
Expressions of interest must be received by noon on January 26.
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