London’s two-wheelin’ criminals could soon find themselves being pursued by drones as Scotland Yard looks into quadcopter policing.
The capital’s Metropolitan Police have launched a review into how it pursues criminals on motorcycles, including the possible use of drones, according to a new report by the Evening Standard. The revelation came courtesy of Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey who, while speaking at a meeting of the London Assembly’s Police and Crime Committee, confirmed the Met’s investigations into police drones.
“The possibilities of unmanned aerial vehicles to tackle suspects using two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles to commit crime are currently being discussed at a national level by the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s steering group and the Centre for Applied Science and Technology,” the Met said, in a statement given to the Standard.
The review comes after a recent inquest found that the death of 18-year-old Henry Hicks died after crashing his moped during a high-speed chase. The teenager was found to have been fleeing two unmarked police cars in Islington in 2014, although one police driver denies the pursuit.
The Met hopes to prevent future such incidents by reducing the risk of chasing moped gangs, which are notoriously difficult to pursue. Speaking to the Standard, aviation expert Julian Bray said: “It would be much cheaper and the drone could sit over an area and direct ground units to the fleeing car or motorbike.”
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
