Madison police department actively using UAS

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Since June, the Madison Police Department in Wisconsin has deployed its new UAS team five times.

One of the times, the policed launched a UAS to help officers locate a suicidal man who was on the loose, and another time, a UAS was used to help officers map out the scene at a restaurant where a homicide and armed robbery had occurred.

These are just a few examples of how the department plans on using its UAS, and according to Madison Police Lt. Mike Hanson, who commands the 11-member team, this is just the beginning for this technology.

“They’re here to stay,” Hanson says via the Wisconsin State Journal.

“This is going to be a successful program. The department’s committed to it. The chief’s committed to it. We want the community to understand it’s a tool for us to be able to keep them safe, and our officers.”

Thus far, the department has two UAS, and each UAS is operated by a three-person team.

After completing a four-day training program, all members of the Madison police drone team were required to pass the FAA certification test, which they took back in April.

Being that it is a “public aircraft operation,” the Madison police can operate under slightly different rules than those established by the FAA for small UAS operations. The department can fly up to 1,000 feet if necessary, which is more than double the 400-foot limit that the FAA has set in place for UAS operations.

UAS are also prohibited from operating within five miles of larger airports under FAA rules, but the department can fly its UAS within a closer range of airports, although it must first notify air traffic control.

​With this technology flying in a new community, the issue of privacy is sure to arise amongst local citizens, but Hanson says that people don’t have to worry about their privacy being compromised.

“We, as the UAS team, will not be flying over to watch people in their own backyard and their own business doing their own thing,” Hanson says. “That is not the intent of this, nor will it ever be the intent of this program.”

​Wisconsin has a number of rules and regulations in place in regards to the use of UAS. In the state, before police can use a UAS to gather evidence or other information during a criminal investigation “at a place where an individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy,” a warrant must first be obtained by the police. Hanson did note that as a part of a search or during an investigation, there might be times when the UAS are used to fly over a private property.

Under the state’s open records law, UAS photos and video will be subject to disclosure. Also, all events where UAS are used will be tracked and included in a yearly report.

Overall, Brian Landers, criminal justice program director at Madison Area Technical College, believes that this technology has far more upside than downside, and can ultimately be a game changer for police.

“They’re a tremendous investigative tool ... the ability to have a camera taking aerial shots or giving you a live feedback to an officer is invaluable,” Landers says.

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