Police to make use of drones to get to crime scenes quicker says Jeremy Hunt

Police will use drones as first responders to allow them to get to crime scenes quicker, Jeremy Hunt has introduced.

Forces are set to trial the brand new know-how, which might see the distant managed gadgets dispatched to collect information. The Chancellor additionally stated that individuals who name 101 to report against the law might first cope with an automatic service.

He claimed an excessive amount of time is being wasted on “unnecessary admin” as he vowed to plough money into know-how to avoid wasting money and time. Mr Hunt stated individuals will be capable of report crimes by video message.

The Chancellor advised the Commons: “Police officers waste around 8 hours a week on unnecessary admin – with higher productivity, we could free up time equivalent to 20,000 officers over a year.

“So we are going to spend £230million rolling out time-and-money-saving know-how which quickens police response time by permitting individuals to report crimes by video name and the place applicable use drones as first responders.”

Budget documents said a new Centre for Police Productivity will help forces to bring in new technologies. The Treasury said: “Committing £230 million to ship pilot schemes of police know-how like facial recognition, automating the triage of 101 calls and deploying drones as first responders to allow cops to spend extra time on the frontline tackling crime.”

Police chiefs have welcomed the use of drones to respond to crimes, under a scheme known as Project Eagle X. Norfolk Police is set to be one of the first forces to give it a go.

In November, when the project was announced, Neil Sexton, who advises the National Police Chiefs’ Council on using drones, said: “The capability to get a distant plane overhead of an incident that’s nonetheless creating to achieve a greater situational consciousness [is] a lot improved over telephone calls from members of the general public who’re underneath stress.

“Sitting overhead, it can tell you straight away whether you’re talking about a major road traffic collision that requires three fire engines and four ambulances, or whether it’s a minor prang and someone’s getting over-excited.”