A decade on: How ‘indispensable’ drones reshaped British policing forever

• 2025 marks the tenth anniversary of police in the UK trialling drones

• A decade on, and the impact has been immense - with a senior policing body stating they have become 'indispensable'

• New figures show drones deployment, along with investment by police forces in training officers, is increasing

• Jack Sharp, Head of Training at heliguy, outlines what impact beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights could have on police drone operations in the future

In 2015, two rural police forces dotted along the English South Coast joined forces for a pilot scheme that would forever reshape crimefighting in the UK.

Devon and Cornwall teamed with Dorset Police to trial drones, aimed at assessing if and how UAVs could aid policing.

A decade on, that question has been firmly answered.

Drones 'indispensable to police'

Following the successful trial, Devon and Cornwall and Dorset Police went on to launch the UK's first dedicated police drone unit in 2017.

And now, almost every British force has warmly embraced drones, with the devices used for everything from search and rescue missions to tackling nuisance off-road bikers and snaring drug dealers. 

“Drones are indispensable to policing," states the The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC).

“Whether locating a missing person, tracking offenders or providing a bird’s-eye view of a developing incident, there is so much potential for drones to support front-line officers.”

That potential is rapidly being unlocked - and they are now being used in ways far more ambitious than simply another set of eyes-in-the-sky.

“The first time a police force used a drone was for a missing woman, but they’ve evolved into a far greater force than simply another set of eyes in the sky,” said Jack Sharp, Head of Training at heliguy, a leading UK drone training provider that has upskilled multiple police forces.

Over 100 blue light agencies supported by heliguy

As Devon and Cornwall’s official drone partner, it has supported the force which last summer worked with the force to help monitor over 60,000 revellers at the annual Boardmasters musical festival.

And the company’s emergency service expertise has seen it either support or supply over 100 UK blue light agencies - including London Fire Brigade. Delivery includes dedicated Emergency Services Drone Operators Training. 

However, in the past decade drones have done everything from stumble upon a cannabis farm - which led to a three-year prison sentence - to helping save the life of a missing 13-year-old girl.

Their versatility comes in sharp contrast to the initial picture ten years ago, when that inaugural drone unit - consisting of three staff -  was tasked with covering a 600 mile stretch of Jurassic coastline armed with a fleet of just four DJI Inspire 1 drones 

“The advances in drone technology in the past decade are staggering. In 2015, police drones were relatively primitive, but now you have drones with cameras capable of capturing evidence from around a mile away and they’ve completely transformed surveillance largely because they are so quick to deploy and can capture high-quality evidence,” added Jack.

Police drone use is soaring

And their use is soaring; Last year alone, Lancashire Constabulary, utilised drones during 1,394 incidents - a figure that on average, equates to a deployment every six-and-a-half hours.

And with 400 deployments in the first eight weeks of 2025 alone, that figure is on-course to double this year.

"The use of drones is a vital tactic and is an area of policing that is only set to grow,” said Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw.

"Investing into such technology helps improve efficiency, effectiveness and productivity, alongside increasing use of digital forensics, and cyber-crime investigations, to keep pace with the tactics used by criminals and future-proofing the work officers do around the clock to fight crime.”

That investment is growing substantially.

Training on the rise

Freedom of Information requests to Britain’s forces revealed that hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent since the start of the decade training officers to use drones and navigate the ever-changing regulatory landscape.

And the rise of drones has come at a time where Government cuts resulted in a sharp dip in the number of frontline officers.

Between 2010 and 2017 - when the UK’s first drone unit was officially launched - the number of officers fell to their lowest level on record. 

And while increased spending has seen a gradual upswing in recruitment, increasingly powerful drones means forces are turning to drones in order to manage often limited resources.

“Drones are starting to do a lot more of the heavy lifting for the police, which for forces that would ideally like more uniformed staff, can free up officers and resources and for forces feeling the strain of staffing cuts, that is massive,” added Jack.

Looking towards the future, the full impact of drones on policing may still largely be untested.

The future for police drones?

Just last year, Norfolk Police piloted potentially the biggest advancement yet for drones within policing when it trialled UAVs as first responders, with the machines remotely flown to incident scenes to give actual officers a clearer picture of what was unfolding on the ground 

Dubbed Project Eagle X, further tests were carried out in Hampshire and Thames Valley with the areas all having limited access to helicopters flown by the National Police Air Service - a service led by West Yorkshire Police which costs around £40m–a-year to run.

And according to Jack, while there are 19 police helicopters currently operating across the UK, drones could increasingly play a bigger role.

“Maintaining a fleet of helicopters isn’t cheap. Drones present a more affordable, convenient surveillance solution and while some areas have limited access to the police helicopter, drones can be deployed to police every inch of Britain and arrive quicker than a helicopter could,” he added.

“With remote flights using a drone–in-a-box like the DJI Dock 3, which can even be mounted onto a vehicle for rapid deployment and expanded range, you can literally have a presence in the sky within seconds.

“Additionally, you also don’t need a pilot on-board, just on the ground so they could be utilised more for rapid-response operations.”

And it seems that there is a growing appetite from forces across the UK to tap into the technology.

BVLOS - a gamechanger

The former Chairwoman of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, Donna Jones, claimed in 2023 that roughly a third of forces would be interested in using drones even as an alternative to helicopters  - but admitted laws must ease to make that possible.

Currently, the vast majority of drones are flown within the visual line of sight - meaning pilots must be able to see the UAV with their own eyes at all times. Regulators say this lowers the risk of an incident, especially one that could endanger the public.

However, the longer-term goal across the drone industry is to move more towards flights beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) which would further unlock the potential for automated and remote flights.

The NPCC has already initiated a BVLOS Pathway Programme to integrate drones more effectively into policing strategies in order to cut crime and boost public safety, and Jack said that BVLOS flights will be the big development in the next decade.

“Remote flights are changing everything,” said Jack, who recently helped heliguy as it became the first operator in Britain to receive permission from the Civil Aviation Authority to carry out BVLOS flights in an atypical air environment.

“It will slowly open the door for the big drone revolution - Amazon is already looking at BVLOS flights to deliver packages in County Durham and I think it will eventually be widespread.

“For policing, it will be a genuine gamechanger. From search and rescue to monitoring matchday crowds, drones have already done so much - but the biggest advancements are yet to come.”