Drones are becoming an everyday tool for more police and fire departments, new research has found, the Associated Press reports. The number of public safety agencies with drones has more than doubled since the end of 2016, says the Center for the Study of the Drone at New York’s Bard College. The center estimated that more than 900 police, sheriff, fire and emergency agencies now have drones, with Texas, California and Wisconsin leading the way. While many law enforcement drone units are just getting started, and exist in a small fraction of public safety agencies across the U.S., police and fire departments continue to find new uses for the remote-controlled aircraft. Drones are being deployed to take photos of car accidents, guide firefighters through burning buildings, and search for missing people and murder suspects. Some believe they will change policing much as laptops in patrol cars, two-way radios and K-9 units did.
“With this new environment we’re in with active shooters and mass shooters, you can be all over a school campus and see everyone who’s running out,” said Grady Judd, a Florida sheriff, who this year used money from drug seizures to buy 20 drones to cover all of Polk County night and day. About a third of states require police to get a warrant before using drones in a criminal investigation. Using drones, Judd said, is much cheaper than sending up a helicopter and allows for a faster response. Those equipped with thermal imaging can spot suspects at night. Most public safety agencies with drones have just one, said Dan Gettinger of the drone research center.