IFPD drone program protects officers, public
The Idaho Falls Police Department got a lot of practice with its new drone program this week.
After a year and a half of planning, the Idaho Falls Police Department drone program is in full force. The department has a fleet of four drones to use for situations ranging from mapping traffic accidents to missing persons and fire support.
“If we can get overhead and provide aerial view, they can make better decisions,” said David Barker, a logistics officer for the IFPD. “It can help officers or firefighters stay safe because they don’t go into troubled areas that we can see from the air, but nobody, you can’t see from the ground.”
The drones were especially handy this past Tuesday after someone reported seeing a walker in the Snake River. Thankfully, no one was found in the river or reported missing. Just a few hours later, it was used again when the Bonnneville County Sheriff’s Office was in a five-hour standoff with a shooting suspect. The drone assisted in locating that suspect and watching him while deputies negotiated with him.
“In our perception it was very successful in that we were able to see what he was doing and we didn’t have to send officers closer,” Barker said. “He was believed to be armed and so we were able to keep a distance and provide that situational awareness and we think help keep the officers safer than they might’ve been without this technology.”
“Being able to put something that doesn’t have a person attached to it in an area or a zone where it’s a bit, a little bit dangerous for a person to be,” said Sgt. Bryan Lovell with the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office. “You know, that’s always a better option for us, for our safety and the public and things like that.”
Beyond increased safety, using the drone in situations such as the standoff can help with efficiency and quicker decision making. Officers hope to continue to build up the drone program, which currently has no set budget. They want drones that have thermal imaging, which would help locate missing persons quicker and easier.
IFPD says that taxpayers actually save money when the drone is able to help them speed up their processes and searches.
