North Bay Police expand Drone Fleet

By Richard Coffin

The North Bay Police Service now has seven drones to assist officers during active investigations and search and rescue operations. 

The service recently purchased two new drones, one large and one small to add to its existing fleet of five drones.   

Police say adding a second large drone, which include thermal cameras, allows officers to maintain aerial observation during law enforcement incidents such as the pursuit of a suspect or the search for a missing person. 

“Our current drones provide a significant advantage to our day-to-day work as police, whether we’re trying to locate a missing person or gathering evidence from a crime scene,” says Cst. Steve Sproule of the North Bay Police Service. “But there are limitations. Let’s say we are tracking a suspect who is fleeing from police. While we are doing so, we may need to change the batteries on our drone, with one drone that can take some time, but now with a second drone we can much more quickly deploy and never lose our vantage point.” 

Police say their smaller drones are able to fly inside buildings, allowing police to ensure rooms are clear of threats when attempting a high-risk arrest. 

They add use of the drones is limited under existing regulations and case law.  

One example is they can’t be used to observe the inside of a residence that a judge hasn’t issued a search warrant for.  

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