Police departments throughout the United States have begun using drones to help officers perform their duties. Large departments, like the NYPD, have budgets that allow them to purchase enough drones to support use in a heavily populated environment. For smaller police departments in more rural settings, developing drone programs has been a bit slower. But as one police department in Mid-Missouri has found, having a drone on hand is even more important for police departments with a small staff.

Under the leadership of Police Chief Gabe Edwards, Boone County Missouri’s Ashland Police Department (APD) is committed to serving and protecting a population of around 5,000 citizens 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The department is made up of 8 full-time and 3 part-time officers. With such a small staff, Officer Rick Smith realized that having a drone available could be critical in assisting police operations. For about 6 months, Officer Smith has been coordinating the APD’s Air Support Team program. “It’s been more of a trial test type thing. Seeing what we can use it for, seeing how viable it is, and it’s helped us in quite a few ways,” Officer Smith said.

The APD has several drones now, one of which Officer Smith always makes sure to have charged and ready in his patrol car. The drones the APD are using are the DJI Mavic Air 2 which run anywhere from $800-$2,000 making them extremely affordable to a small police department with a limited budget. The drone only weighs 1.2lbs and folds up to fit in a small carrying case, it can even fit in a backpack. Unfolded the Mavic Air 2 measures 7.2inL X 9.9inW X 3inH. Compact as it is, the Mavic Air 2 comes with all the capabilities you would expect from a high performance drone.

The drone can remain airborne for a little over 30 minutes, but additional batteries can be quickly swapped for continued flight. It has a maximum altitude of 1,640ft and a flight range of 11.4 miles at a top speed of 42mph. But what really makes the Mavic Air 2 a perfect fit for the APD is the high quality camera and gimbal that comes standard with the drone. The gimbal provides superior image stability for the HD 48 MP 8000×6000 pixel photo resolution and 4K Ultra HD video resolution camera. As DJI states on their website, “Mavic Air 2 takes power and portability to the next level, offering advanced features in a compact form factor. Intelligent shooting functions and excellent image quality put aerial masterpieces within reach. Safer, smarter flight enables you to up your game while fully enjoying the creative process.”

For Officer Smith and his fellow Air Support Team member, Sgt. Andrew Worrall, the Mavic Air 2 has been making all the difference in providing the APD with the best modern policing practices available. “It gives us the ability to kind of stand back, look at things from afar,” Officer Smith said. “We can still zoom in and get a good idea of what we’re looking at when we’re walking into and make better decisions and keep our officers safe.” And that is the primary goal of any police officer, to keep civilians and officers safe at all times. Drones provide that extra layer of safety by being an eye in the sky.