Disaster detectives can always use another set of eyes. Manitoba RCMP say they’re better served when they come from up above. So while one mayoral candidate trumpeted the benefits Unmanned Aerial Vehicles would have for Winnipeg police, Manitoba RCMP have been seeing the benefits of the so-called “drones” for the past two years.
From crime scene assistance to traffic collision reconstruction, the RCMP has eight UAVs in its inventory and Cpl. Byron Charbonneau, who coordinates the province’s UAV program, said the units have proven their worth.
Charbonneau said, since the program’s inception, the UAVs have been utilized in 66 operations, including in one instance a rural arson that RCMP were able to solve thanks to the visuals the UAV provided.
“It leads you right back to where the fire was lit,” he said. “From the air you can see the path the fire took.”
While there is certainly merit in boots-on-the-ground investigation, Charbonneau said the up-high visual is critical, and a UAV is more practical than bringing in a helicopter.
“When it comes to UAV, we’re doing aerial photography and aerial video of crime scenes,” he said. “Particularly when you have an outdoor crime scene, timeliness is of importance. The problem we run into when we’re using conventional air craft, is you can’t always get an aircraft there in a timely fashion. It could be days. With a UAV, we can deploy the UAV almost immediately to get the aerial photographs while the evidence is still present, while it’s unaltered.
“If we have to wait a couple of days to get aerial evidence and it rains or it snows, that’s a problem.”
Charbonneau said the UAV gives investigators “a completely new perspective.”
“It’s one thing to take ground-level photographs from various angles,” he said. “However, if you have evidence that is spread out, you don’t get a good perspective of the distance.”
Charbonneau said an added benefit is, with UAV photography, an investigator can actually compose a 3D image of a scene.
Ontario-based Aeryon Labs has outfitted a number of law enforcement agencies in Canada with their product retailing for $60,000 “at the low end.” Charbonneau said Manitoba RCMP units range from $2,500 to $70,000.
Andrea Sangster, a spokeswoman for Aeryon, told the Sun the UAVs often do their work undetected by the average citizen.
“A lot of times you can’t even see an unmanned system in the air,” Sangster said. “I think people are becoming more aware and there’s much more media attention around it than I ever remember.”
Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen told the Sun the WPS has explored the idea of UAVs but they are not currently being considered for implementation.
Earlier this week, mayoral candidate Gord Steeves endorsed the idea of purchasing two UAVs for Winnipeg police if elected.
“They would be used as incident response, not as general surveillance outside of a warrant scenario,” Steeves said.
Sangster said Ontario Provincial Police, a number of regional police organizations in Ontario, and New Brunswick RCMP are among the agencies that use Aeryon products. She said Halton Regional Police have even done demos looking into the feasibility of UAVs assisting in bomb disposal incidents.
Don’t call them drones, say RCMP
Cpl. Byron Charbonneau, like many in the business, doesn’t like the word “drones.”
The Brandon-based RCMP member is loathe to use the word that, largely based on its connection to the American military, has garnered a negative connotation. Charbonneau, who is the coordinator of the Manitoba RCMP’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicles program, said drones is a misnomer as it relates to how such devices are used in this province.
“A lot of people think of the U.S. military drones that go out and conduct unmanned bombing missions,” Charbonneau said. “I don’t like the word drones because it brings up all these connotations of a predator that the U.S. Air Force flies. That’s not what this is about, at all.”
Charbonneau suggested Remotely Piloted Aircraft System will eventually become the accepted wording for the aircraft.
Charbonneau said RCMP are guided by the Canadian Privacy Act for what can and can’t be done with a UAV. He said the RCMP adheres to strict regulations for deploying the units.
“We have internal policy that says ‘You shall not deploy the UAV for the purpose of surveillance,'” he said. “We’re deploying the aircraft at a scene that is already controlled. We can’t go on a fishing expedition.”
Andrea Sangster, of UAV manufacturer Aeryon Labs, said Canada is ahead of the United States when it comes to regulating the units with privacy in mind.
“Transport Canada does have rules and regulations for public safety and commercial applications,” she said. “There’s always that (privacy) concern from those people who don’t understand what goes into the business activities of what people are doing. They’re not there to take pictures of people stuck in traffic.”
Transport Canada also regulates private citizens who own UAVs, making them have to file paperwork each time they intend to put their UAV in the air.
Manitoba recently banned hunters from using UAVs
Brian Hagglund calls himself an old-school hunter, but he nevertheless recognizes a need to be as out in front as possible on the newest technologies.
The province recently strengthened regulations to include banning the use of drones for hunting purposes, an extension from an existing law that prohibits hunting from a vehicle.
Hagglund, the manager of wildlife for Manitoba Conservation, said officials here were alerted that the unmanned aerial vehicles were becoming an issue in some parts of the U.S., where some states have already banned the units for hunting.
“We didn’t know much about them when one of our investigators sent us a home video one of his contacts had done,” Hagglund said, “and we looked at it and went ‘Hmm, there’s probably some applications that are unscrupulous or unethical a hunter could use for hunting.'”
Hagglund said UAV operators could conceivably use drones to shepherd water fowl towards an area where hunters are stationed, or use the units to get visuals they wouldn’t have otherwise to drive big game out of the bush.
“We wanted to nip this in the bud before it became ingrained in use in Manitoba,” Hagglund said. “So it’s good that we were a little proactive on this and I was glad we had the issue brought to our attention.”
Hagglund said his department has not been made aware of anyone in Manitoba operating drones for hunting purposes.
Colorado, Montana, and Alaska each banned drones for hunting this year.
However, in some American jurisdictions, they’ve found a positive use: The drones can be navigated to hunt feral hogs that can be a danger to crops and humans.
As recently as last year, feral pigs were reported throughout southern Manitoba, still a product of escapes from farms in the 1980s.
Source: Winnipeg Sun