The Wellesley Police Department invested just over a year ago in unmanned aerial vehicles (aka, drones) to support its work, and this week hosted a conference at Babson College for fellow law enforcement agencies either using drones or looking to do so. So if you looked up in the Babson area of town this week, you might have seen more than just birds, the sun, and clouds.
The Law Enforcement Drone Association (LEDA) training event welcomed more than 160 officers from 80-plus agencies seeking to update their skills, learn new tactics, and earn flight proficiency certifications. LEDA, a non-profit established in 2020, boasts more than 1,000 members.
The event wound up here after LEDA made a connection with the Wellesley Police Department at an event last year. A need was identified for standardized training in the northeast, said Doug Seirup, chief marketing officer for LEDA.
Wellesley and Babson officers were among those taking classes, said Wellesley Police Deputy Chief Scott Whittemore.
“I attended one of their trainings last year down in Virginia as we were getting our program up and running. I found that LEDA set the standard for training and professional UAV operations,” Whittemore said. “The standards and training is really what I was looking for-aside from getting the FAA pilot license. There isn’t a great deal of training and information on Law Enforcement drone operations presently available, and most of it is in other parts of the US.”
The program included teaching on how to search for missing persons, how to fly safely under varying circumstances and conditions, and how to use drones for public safety at events like the Boston Marathon or Hillary Clinton’s visit last month to Wellesley College. Drones are also used for crime scene videography, crash reconstruction, and more.
The training event also provided guidance on policies, operations, and maintenance—the back-end issues that are important for program administrators like Whittemore. “They are sharing hard won knowledge with us so we don’t make the same mistakes. It’s also fair to say that law enforcement drone operations in other parts of the country are far ahead of the North East and we are trying to catch up. We are fortunate to have these experts teaching us,” he said.
The latest example of Wellesley Police putting drones to work: Spotting an apparent sinkhole in front of the main branch of the Wellesley Free Library.
Traffic Alert: WPD Officer and FAA Drone Pilot Brian Collins captured this video of an apparent sinkhole in front of the main library on Washington Street. @wellesleydpw is on the way to fix it. pic.twitter.com/tb0cE5Gkgw
— Wellesley Police (@WellesleyPolice) May 18, 2024
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