14 2023 Annual Report
•
Service
Law enforcement makes use
of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Game and Parks has been developing programs in its law enforcement and wildlife divisions
to leverage the technology of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems, commonly known as drones,
to aid in various applications. These allow the agency to address problems in a safer and more
efficient manner.
Law enforcement uses the technology in cases of search and rescue, recovery, crime- and
incident-scene mapping, modeling, reconstruction, and emergency incident response. It also
has been able to demonstrate ways drones can be helpful in response to depredation complaints,
wildlife surveys, and habitat management or property improvement projects on agency or other
contracted properties.
During the past couple of years, the law enforcement division expanded its drone program
from one certified pilot to five and has trained four more law enforcement division and four
wildlife division pilots. From 2021 through November 2023, agency law enforcement pilots
conducted more than 257 flights and logged over 52 hours of flight time.
In addition to its own purposes, Game and Parks drones were used to assist other law
enforcement agencies for public safety issues. These included searching for a fleeing suspect and
missing persons, taking crime scene photos, and mapping a wildlife management area where a
hunter died of a heart attack and another where an airplane crashed.
Newer pilots frequently are called upon to help other officers and the public with questions
about drone laws and regulations pertaining to hunting, fishing and Commission-managed
properties.
Conservation officers are using
drones to support public safety and
conservation efforts.
