Police Drones: Aerial crime fighters come to the Jersey Shore

Ocean City is the latest municipality in New Jersey to add a drone unit to its police force. In only weeks, the technology has proven its worth.

By Marjorie Preston

At the end of May, the Ocean City Police Department officially launched its new drone program, becoming the latest law enforcement agency in Cape May County to adopt the technology.

In its first month alone, the drones (also called unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs) helped locate a missing man, find a woman in need of medical assistance, detect a capsized boat on the bay, and foil a group of alleged car thieves.

‘Eyes in the Sky’

“We’re fully up and running and ready to help,” says Lt. Mark Pancoast, who leads the 13-person, three-drone unit. “Some of the others who don’t have a drone program see these things as toys, but when you put them to use in search-and-rescue, it’s incredible to see how they work.”

Take the recent case of an Upper Township man who went missing for 15 hours. State police were considering a search by helicopter when a drone found him in under three minutes, wading through a marsh in the Woodbine area. The drone maintained a bird’s-eye view of the subject until rescue personnel could be dispatched.

In another incident, a drone used its infrared capability to spot an impaired woman unconscious on the Ocean City beach, after dark, lying perilously close to the surf. In that case, too, police were able to render aid before the situation became a tragedy.

Ocean City’s new police chief, Bill Campbell, who took command last November, was pivotal in bringing drones to the shore resort.

“They provide law enforcement with a perspective from the air that we otherwise wouldn’t have,” he says. “They help in investigations, supplement officers on patrol, and get eyes in the sky to see what’s happening.”

The new fleet includes:

An Avata 2 first-person view (FPV) drone, which streams real-time video from a fixed camera to goggles worn by the operator. It has a run time of about 25 minutes

A Mini 3 drone, which can zoom in, angle around, and deal with wind and other natural elements with ease. It has a battery life of about 50 minutes

The Matrice drone is the largest of the three with a circumference of about 2.5 feet. Thermal-imaging capability makes it indispensable in finding lost and missing people. It can stay aloft for about 35 minutes

Altogether, the equipment represents an investment to the city of about $13,000. But by saving labor and equipment hours, the drones also save tax dollars.

“Any time you can save a life, there’s no monetary value you can put on that,” says Pancoast. “Even a cheap helicopter now I think is around $700,000, plus the cost of operations. So it’s definitely worth it.”

A Growing Phenomenon

Drones boldly go where foot patrols, police cruisers, and helicopters cannot, swooping under bridges, flying through tunnels, and hovering around and inside buildings. One thing they can’t do is fly more than 400 feet above ground or in any controlled airspace (banner planes and other small aircraft have to fly 500 feet or higher).

The use of drones in law enforcement is a growing phenomenon around the U.S., helping officers pursue suspects, evaluate crime scenes, and protect first responders in potentially dangerous situations. They can also be used to map terrain for storm preparedness and assess post-storm damage, which may be especially helpful in a coastal town.

Then there’s crowd control, which resort communities need at the height of the season. “On a Saturday on the Boardwalk, we can identify a potential fight before there are boots on the ground,” says Campbell. “The pilot can get on the radio and say, ‘Hey units, 11th and the Boardwalk, it’s two people, and a crowd is gathering.’ It’s very advantageous to be able to monitor those situations.”

Five of Ocean City’s 13 operators have already earned their FAA Part 107 certification at the Atlantic County Institute of Technology. The others “are able to fly as long as they’re side by side” with a certified operator, says Pancoast. “So they’re getting hands-on training, and after summer our goal is to get them certified.”

Police drones have their critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which says the technology, if unchecked, may lead to “an era of pervasive, suspicionless, mass aerial surveillance.”

The ACLU advises communities to “think very carefully about whether they want drone surveillance, and if they decide to permit some operations, put in place guardrails that will prevent those operations from expanding.”

But, as Pancoast said in an interview with WPVI Action News, “There’s nothing hidden or nefarious that we’re doing with these drones. They’re there for public safety.”

According to Campbell, the OCPD creates incident reports every time a drone is used, which are then available through open-records requests. “Whether we’re looking for a missing person or a person of interest, the flight log shows exactly the time it went up, who the pilot was, where the drone was flown, and when it came down. We have a clear path of documentation.”

Preventing Crime — and More

Ocean City’s new drones have the potential to be important allies as law enforcers work to prevent criminal activity. But they can be of service in small matters, too. “On the beach the other day, somebody lost their cellphone,” says Pancoast. “We just happened to be there and turned the spotlight on the phone.

“This is not just for catching bad guys. We’re trying to make this very much a part of the community. We want to be there to help.”

Marjorie Preston is a business writer, editor, ghostwriter and compulsive reader, who gobbles up books like potato chips. For more information (and more book reviews), visit marjorieprestonwriting.com.