We all know that the military has been using drones for many years now. This made me wonder what other government and law enforcement agencies are using drones today! I did some research and this is what I found.

Intelligence Agencies

Everyone knows the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator drone used by the military. While you might not know the name of this drone, you may have seen it any movies and tv shows where the military has been involved.

Many people, when thinking of the different intelligence agencies in the American government using drones, probably believe that the MQ-1 is sitting in a bunker somewhere ready to be used to spy on them.

Most of these agencies use regular drones to carry out various tasks to combat the various criminal organizations that have started using drones.

Many criminal organizations are using drones to deliver drugs and weapons around the United States.

These agencies are therefore required to step up their own drone game and start conducting various operations using drones by utilizing all the drones’ characteristics to carry out these tasks.

These agencies use drones to do everything from general surveillance to carrying out missions in the field.

Law Enforcement

Since it is a lot easier for law enforcement to get their hands on a drone and train pilots, they have been taking advantage of this. There are many ways that drones can be able to assist law enforcement, so let us take a look at just a few of these ways.

Surveillance.

Drones are mostly flying cameras and are generally used to shoot amazing cinematic video by hobbyists around the world. They are flown by using a remote control or smart device.

The pilot sees where the drone is and where they are flying to because there is a live feed from the drone’s camera that is displayed on the device they are using. This makes it great for law enforcement to use in the field as a means of having eyes in the sky!

Drones are currently able to take off within minutes of officers requesting air support to find a criminal on the ground that has escaped their line of sight. If someone was involved in a robbery and is running on foot, ducking between buildings or peoples’ houses, having a visual of the person from an aerial perspective will help officers on the ground locate the person.

If they run into a forest, for example, drones can be fitted with thermal cameras to see heat signatures, and this will help the officer flying the drone to lead the other officers on the scene towards the person.

Drones will also be able to hover in certain areas to give law enforcement an idea of what is happening in certain areas. When the drone starts to run out of battery, all they have to do is bring it back and change the battery.

Health and Safety Agencies

Health and safety services that are utilized by the government need to be extremely efficient at all times.

Drones are being used to combat the current COVID-19 pandemic. Law enforcement is using them to look at and break up social gatherings that could pose a threat or risk to society. The introduction of drones in this current situation helps keep police and other staff safe and reduces the risk of them being infected.

If they do not operate effectively, this could cost thousands of people their lives! The COVID-19 pandemic is a great example of how the government agencies and law enforcement can use drones.

Like I mentioned earlier, law enforcement have been using drones to disperse crowds of people that might be seen as a potential risk of spreading the virus.

Authorities have also been using drones to broadcast messages about the various lock-down information and measures that people need to know. This happens especially in rural areas that don’t have open communication channels.

This is mainly done to avoid healthcare workers and law enforcement from going into these areas to broadcast this information themselves and risk spreading the virus.

They do this by equipping drones with loudspeakers, which then keeps people indoors while still making the public announcements that are needed without the risk of spreading the virus.

Drones are carrying devices to disperse disinfectant.

These spraying drones are filled with disinfectants and can cover much more ground in less time and a lot faster than traditional methods used in the past.

Today, drones are being used by emergency services to deliver medical supplies to people who might need it and between hospitals. And perhaps, when drone technology becomes more automated, drones will be flying between hospitals all the time to transport things like blood samples and organs that only have a short amount of time to be transported safely.

During the peak of the epidemic in China, authorities were checking peoples’ temperatures from inside their apartments by flying drones attached with infrared cameras to check. This is actually a very effective method of checking temperatures of potential COVID-19 cases!

Security and General Surveillance

Drones are also being developed to assist with security and general surveillance by means of tether drones. These drones are attached to the ground via a power cable that allows it to remain powered and in the sky indefinitely.

A company called Cyphy is developing these drones to survey an area and communicate, as the tether also allows the drone to communicate with the ground team and share information.

These drones are able to stay in the air for up 220 hours and the company is working with state police, the army, and big events to be able to develop this technology to work for them.

Search and Rescue

A drone that is used in search and rescue operations is an unmanned aircraft used by emergency services. These emergency services can include anything from outdoor search and rescue services all the way to firefighting as well as the police.

Drones are incredibly useful to these agencies because of their compact size and versatility. They are also airborne so they can go places cars and other motor vehicles can’t go. When they are paired with thermal imaging cameras, they can now provide emergency response teams with an ideal solution for identifying victims who are difficult to spot with the naked eye.

UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) can provide real-time aerial visual information and data needed to save lives after natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes.

The aerial view of an area that is not easily accessible by first respondents on the ground can give emergency personnel a better understanding of the terrain, and how to handle the situation in order to save lives without wasting unnecessary time.

As I mentioned earlier, drones can have different kinds of cameras attached to them that are capable of many different things. They can have cameras that have optical zoom lenses to assist in getting a closer look at a certain area.

This can help first respondents get a better look at an injury to see if a person can be moved in a certain situation or if they need special treatment. Thermal cameras can also be used to find people that are trapped in places and out of the view of first respondents.

Everything has a different heat signature, and that is what allows thermal cameras to see different things that aren’t visible to the human eye. People often get trapped underneath things when disasters happen, and this is when another approach is need.

Fire Department

Firefighters are using drones to assist them in almost every way possible. This was a big surprise, considering firefighters didn’t really use helicopters to combat normal fires but are now able to use drones all the time.

Thermal imaging attached to drones can also help them to see if there are any people that might still be stuck in a building or house that might be burning.

In 2019 popular drone manufacturer DJI launched an emergency response program that allows first respondents to have access to some of their drones as well as peripherals which includes cameras and other equipment. They even offer technical support and assistance.

The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) took full advantage of this in 2015, when Battalion Chief Richard Fields initiated the LAFD’s UAV program. This program was the main method used by firefighters in 2019 during the infamous California wildfires. Drones were very helpful during that time and continue to be helpful!

Police are also able to use drones to locate missing people. When a person is reported missing, police can use drones fitted with spotlights or thermal cameras to be in the air in a matter of minutes and search the area.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Drones have proven really useful for the department of agriculture as they have been used lately in many ways to help farmers with their crops and livestock.

Farmers around the world are starting to use technology to better improve the way they farm. They are constantly looking for new ways to reduce costs while still being heavily effective.

Drones are helping farmers collect data about their crops and being able to collect this data so effectively also helps the government department to monitor and assist where they can.

Another area where drones are being used on farms is the cultivation of crops. Crop cultivating is a process that can be repetitive, time-consuming and largely detail-oriented.

Drones are being used to hover over crops and disperse insecticides and other pesticides over crops more effectively than the farmers were able to do so before.

USDA uses the farmer’s ability to use drones to their advantage in order to collect data about the various farms in the country and this helps the maintain and keep an eye on all farming activity in the country.

United Department of Transportation (U.S DOT)

Back in 2013, over a thousand local agencies across the country applied for drone permits. From your local police departments all the way to the departments of transportation in many states!

Local surveillance used to have a natural limit. After all, small towns could only afford to have so many cops and helicopters. But with drone technology being so inexpensive and easily accessible, even small towns can afford to have a couple. Many government agencies are looking to implement drones a lot more in the way they do things.

One government agency that has looked into drones and has started using them to better improve the way they do things is the United Department of Transportation(U.S. DOT).

One way they are doing this is by flying drones in cities in order to get a better understanding of the area and this helps them get an aerial view of the cities and they can then start mapping out transportation routes. Drones are also constantly being looked at as a mode of transport and will soon be implemented into cities as forms of short-distance travel. Sounds insane, right?

Companies like Ehang have already developed passenger drones that can carry up to two people and be remotely piloted to be able to transport people from one point to another.

Drones can also be used to cut the time needed to carry out construction site inspections that are required to make sure buildings are being built to standard.