Karnataka Police becomes one of the first police departments in India to have an UAV fleet.
The Karnataka police department has become one of the first police departments in the country to have a UAV fleet after the procurement of 12 drones last month.
About 20 policemen have been trained to operate these drones. The UAVs have night vision capabilities and have already helped cops detect sand mining along the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border, and are currently being used to monitor such activities.
While in the past Bengaluru police has used rented drones for monitoring the crowd during major events like Dasara and during New Year celebrations.
But this is the first time that a police department has bought drones and is using them. The cost of each UAV is around Rs 1.5 lakh.
These Phantom 4 UAVs, procured from South Korea, can remain in the air for over 30 minutes and go up to heights of 1 km. They are equipped with high definition 18.2 megapixel cameras, with night vision capability. The technology allows the cops to see what the Phantom sees 5 km away. However, the only drawback is they are incapable of operating in heavy rain.
With the help of these UAVs, the Karnataka police department will be able to keep a check on sand mining, illegal activities, VVIP events and even chain snatching.
The 12 drones will be distributed among the districts of Koppal, Yadgir, Ballari, Bidar, Raichur and Kalaburagi.
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