Force drone operators deployed 543 times in last six months

The results speak for themselves…

Over the last six months, our drone operators have been deployed 543 times, resulting in 305 positive outcomes.

Since January, they have helped to locate:

• 66 suspects
• 27 missing people
• 20 vehicles
• 13 key pieces of evidence or property

We now have 40 qualified drone pilots across the force area who can deploy at a moment’s notice to anywhere within County Durham and Darlington.

They include police officers and PCSOs in our neighbourhood teams, response teams, and roads and armed policing team.

They can be sent out on pre-planned operations, or spontaneous incidents such as searches for missing people or tracking antisocial off-road bikers.

Becoming a drone pilot is a voluntary role, which officers and staff perform in addition to their day job.