HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC Radio) - In an effort to make investigations more efficient, Hartford police have launched an unmanned aircraft systems initiative, bringing 10 new drones to the department.
The drones will be used in various different operations, including motor vehicle accidents, ATV pursuits, traffic operations, missing person and other authorized searches, Chief of Police Jason Thody said.
"Three of [the ten] drones are working with the Crime Scene Division to do reconstruction of crime scenes, aerial pictures and aerial video of crime scenes, car accidents and the like. The other seven drones are on the operational side," he said.
With the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) governed by state and federal law, the drones are registered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and their use must be authorized with Hartford-Brainard Airport before flight, Thody explained.
For this reason, Thody said the drones are currently being deployed for pre-planned operations. The Hartford Police Department also has a policy for UAS-use in place.
The drones will help save officers time and resources when conducting investigations, he said, such as missing person searches.
"A drone is much more effective and much more useful in trying to locate somebody than having to deploy 10 or 15 police officers trying to go through woods and things like that. We also have the Connecticut River. We've had individuals fall in the river and deploying a drone is much faster than deploying a boat," he said.
Extensive FAA training is required to operate the drones. The Hartford Police Department so far has four trained drone pilots.
The pilots trained three nights a week with an FAA employee for six weeks to become federally-accredited drone-operators.
"We actually went to Brainard Airport and took an FAA test. It's pretty intense. They lock you in a room. They take your cell phone. It's a pretty tough test, but we all successfully went through it," Sgt. Chris Mastrioanni said.
Since this is the initial launch of the program, the department isn't looking to train any new drone pilots at the moment, Thody said.