Police drones operated from Birmingham, are flying over Coventry to catch criminals and keep people safe. 

It’s the latest phase in a five-year project which has already seen the technology operate from junction nine of the M6 motorway in Walsall and University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire. 

The drones are housed in secure, weatherproof, automated charging stations, positioned on the roof of a city centre building.  

When an incident is reported nearby, well trained and highly experienced police officer drone pilots based in our Birmingham control centre, launch the drone which they fly to the location. 

High above the city’s streets, they use the powerful cameras to assesses the situation, capture evidence and track suspects, relaying important information to officers responding on the ground. 

Currently, drones must be flown by a pilot at the location and within their line of sight. This means flying is limited to a maximum of 500 metres from the operator.  

As part of the new project, known as Drone as First Responder, the drones are 21 miles from the control room to the operating area and operate within an area of 2.5km radius, which amounts to almost 20km2. 

Led and funded by the National Police Chief’s Council – as part of the national Beyond Visual Line of Sight Pathways Project – the project explores developing drone technology within policing, the effectiveness of drones at assessing scenes before officers arrive on site, inform resourcing decisions, gathering early visual evidence, and even track suspects. 

Others taking part in the national project are Cheshire, Cleveland, Metropolitan, Norfolk, Thames Valley and North Yorkshire police forces. 

For the past 12 months, the remotely operated drones have saved hours of officer time, improved safety, helped them make better decisions and ensures the right organisation responds to the incident – whatever it may be. 

Successes include:  

• confirming that people reported as trespassing on the motorway were truck-spotters safely using a designated public viewing platform, preventing unnecessary lane closures and speed restrictions 
• pinpointing the precise location of dangerous debris on the motorway, miles away from where it was reported, speeding up the recovery of the item by National Highways staff 
• quickly confirming that a high-risk missing person was not in a huge field meaning officers on foot could search other locations 
• tracking a teenager reported to have a gun and reporting his exact location to firearms officers, speeding up the interception 
• tracking a man who had reportedly strangled a woman, leading to his arrest and charge with strangulation, assault, making threats to kill and engaging in controlling/coercive behaviour 

Assistant Chief Constable Matt Welsted, from the Force Executive team, leads on change in the organisation. He said: “Working with the Civil Aviation Authority, the project is fully funded by the Home Office via the NPCC. This includes the costs of staffing, meaning we get extra resources to prevent and detect real crimes, affecting the communities we serve. 

“As if that was not enough, we benefit from all of the learning in real-time, while shaping British policing’s future use of drones, further cementing our national reputation as leaders in the use of technology in policing. 

“Drone First Responders is a hugely exciting innovation related to the very latest capability around police use of drones.  

“We’ve got two operating in Coventry – because it’s a ‘drone ready city’ and they are amazing at getting quickly to the scenes of incidents that we need to understand what’s happening, gather evidence and keep the public safe.” 

As well as the long-established and well-rehearsed safety procedures, the new drones are fitted with parachutes and their charging stations have active weather monitoring technology which, in addition to their pilot, can order drones to land if conditions become dangerous.  

Fitted with thermal imaging, the drones can fly at night as well as daytime. 

Drone as First Responder NPCC lead, Superintendent Taryn Evans, said: “National guidelines say that police forces must arrive at emergencies as a soon as possible, but within 15 minutes. Traffic jams and road closures can cause delays – challenges that do not affect drones which can fly up to 120 meters high and at a maximum range of 500 meters. 

“Having them already securely stored and fully charged in areas of high demand will further speed up their arrival time, while providing the officers who are on their way, with important information. It will also help us secure the help of partner agencies quickly. 

“Multiple drones could attend the scene monitor, track suspects and complete searches for evidence or witnesses. 

“The image from the drone will get sent directly to the offices approaching and to the control room that’s making decisions about that event so that they can see what’s happening before they get there and make decisions about how to approach it accordingly.” 

WMP currently has 15 drones and 20 dedicated pilots. Our 24/7 Drones unit was formed in April 2023, although the force started using drones in 2017.  

Since then, they have played an important role in the security operations for major events such as Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market, political conferences and the Commonwealth Games.  

They are routinely used at multi-agency training exercises to help improve our preparedness.  

Officer safety has also benefited by drones at spontaneous incidents and pre-planned operations, with the images influencing the decisions of commanders managing these events. 

The high-definition crime scene footage they record has been key to securing lengthy jail terms in countless serious offences, including child murders. Missing people have been returned to their families thanks to the skills of our pilots and their heat-cam technology, while their work has been showcased to people around the world on our social media channels and in TV documentaries. 

During Coventry UK City of Culture in 2021, we tested the concept being used in this project as part of Air One, skyport - a future hub for police and delivery drones. 

In 2025, the Coventry was officially started its journey to become ‘drone ready’, with the council, government, universities and businesses working together to integrate drones into the city’s infrastructure for the benefit of local people. This includes electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft or drone taxis.