Permanent police drone teams planned

A report to Wednesday’s Scottish Police Authority board meeting revealed that BTP is preparing a business case to purchase “visual line of sight” drones for permanent use in both Edinburgh and Glasgow. One drone would be allocated to each city, with 10 trained pilots operating across the two locations.

Under the current proposal, operators would be required to remain physically close to the drones while they are in use. The deployment model is still under development, with BTP in regular discussions with Police Scotland and the SPA to ensure operational alignment.

An update on the plans is due to be presented to a BTP committee in March.

Police Scotland already operates a small number of drones, based in Inverness, Aberdeen and Glasgow.

The proposed model for Edinburgh and Glasgow differs from BTP’s existing remote “drone in a box” capability, launched in May, which allows pilots in London to operate drones stationed elsewhere in the UK. Instead, the Glasgow and Edinburgh units would require locally based pilots to manage flights on the ground.