Hertfordshire Constabulary launch new drone team

Hertfordshire Constabulary has expanded its drone capabilities the county, adding a new specially trained drone team to their Operational Support Group (OSG).

The OSG is a specialist police unit that tackle volume priority and organised criminality, such as robbery, burglary, drugs and assaults. They are trained in police tactics such as executing warrants, public order and taser deployment. They work across the county, assisting local officers with operations and investigations.

The 10 new specially trained drone pilots will be working in collaboration with the five drone pilots we have in the Rural Operational Support Team (ROST), with four drones across both teams.

These drones can be used in a number of ways, including to support high-risk missing person searches, warrant executions, scene investigations, search and rescue operations, as well as being utilised during major incidents.

Inspector Paul Stanbridge, who heads up the OSG, said: “Drone technology has improved so much in recent years, it's only right that we have increased capacity in using this crucial equipment across Herts police. Whether we’re looking for a missing person or pursuing an offender, drones are a vital tool in modern policing.

“Between the Operational Support Group and the Rural Operational Support Team, we will be able to utilise the drones to support activity across the county. The deployment of drones also supports the constabulary’s commitment to tackling serious and organised crime, by assisting with the identification of cannabis factories in Hertfordshire.

“Our increased drone capability is a demonstrable way of ensuring that we can offer an agile and adaptable service, to meet the needs of the constabulary and the residents we serve.”

Sergeant Alex Winning from ROST said: “We as a unit have operated drones for a number of years now, and it is great that the constabulary is now boosting the number of drone assets and pilots. Since the start of the year, we have accumulated thousands of minutes of flight time and have deployed them over 100 times across the county, both to support local operations and as part of our efforts to tackle rural crime in Hertfordshire.

“We look forward to working with the OSG team more closely to provide better drone coverage across the county to catch criminals, safeguard the vulnerable and capture important evidence.”

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