One of the unmanned aerial vehicles that will be used by the Medicine Hat Police Service - Photo by Bob Schneider

By Charles Lefebvre

Police begin using unmanned aerial vehicles for operations

Jan 24, 2020 | 9:38 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The Medicine Hat Police Service has added unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to their list of equipment on Friday.

Police announced four UAVs were recently donated to the police service “at no cost,” according to a news release Friday morning.

“There is some application for use,” said Inspector Brent Secondiak with the Medicine Hat Police Service. “We’re one of the last police services we’re aware of in Alberta to use them. We thought there was a need for them.”

Unmanned aerial vehicles are used by other police services in Canada, including the Lethbridge Police Service and the Edmonton Police Service. Secondiak says the organization which donated the UAVs asked to remain anonymous.

The UAVs will be used for search and rescue calls, as well as “high risk” calls, where surveillance for a distance is needed.

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“It could be bomb calls, or calls where there is an armed and barricaded suspect,” he said. “They won’t be used on a day-to-day basis, they’re for specific types of files.”

Secondiak says ensuring the community’s privacy while using the UAV was critical for them.

“We do have to follow all rules with Navigation Canada, which includes submitting a flight plan before we use it,” he said. “They’re not something you’ll see on a day-to-day basis, only as needed in these certain situations.”

Secondiak adds it can also improve the safety of officers.

“It’s really about being more effective in what we do,” he said. “Previous to having the UAV program, we’d have to physically search areas along the river if we had a missing person or someone in distress, but now we can use an item like a UAV to find that person quickly and ensure our safety, and really the safety of the public.”

Two officers with the Medicine Hat Police Service are being trained to operate the vehicles. They will be taking their certification test next week, says Secondiak, with the UAVs coming into use after that.