Tennessee Sheriff’s Office explores using drones for patrol

According to the Shelby Counter Reporter, the SCSO has adopted the use of drones in its tactical response unit and is now involved in a bidding process to potentially acquire new drone units for use in normal patrol functions.

“What we are looking to do is expand beyond the tactical element to more of a patrol and response element,” Chief Deputy Clay Hammac told the newspaper. He added that the SCSO had been inspired by other departments across the USA to find new ways of employing drones to help protect officer safety as the county’s population, traffic flow and call volume increase.

“We’ve also recently begun using drones in our tactical element for building clearing purposes or for reconnaissance … I feel a lot safer sending a drone into a house where we have reports of an armed suspect, as opposed to a team of individuals,” Hammac was quoted as saying. He went on: “As we see a paradigm shift of law enforcement becoming more creative in utilizing intelligence-led policing efforts, this seems to be one of those next steps for us.”

The Shelby Counter Reporter said SCSO would obtain the drones for use in patrol functions after undergoing the state’s bid process through the county.

The city of Schenectady, in the state of New York, is also looking to acquire a new fleet of emergency response drones.