in the city of ensenada, in baja california, mexico, police has placed an ally in the sky: a DJI inspire 1 quadcopter drone. the drone, which is now used to patrol the city from the air, has reported striking results, participating in more than 500 arrests and a general fall of 10% in crime. its emphasis has been on home robberies, where the percentages have decreased by 30 percent. the ensenada police department ensures that the use of the drone has also helped in reducing response times in cases of emergency and even in arresting people committing illegal activities on the spot.

drone helps lower crime in mexico designboom

the drone used is a DJI inspire 1
main image by beau hudspeth – digi-gen design studios – photography 

 

 

the strategy has been active for over four months, with an average of 25 missions per day, reported wired.com, deciding where to send the drone on 911 calls. the operations take place on a local control room where they use a software which automates much of the flying process designed by california-based cape.

 

‘the most common use case is in response to an emergency call, when the drone can be redirected from a flight it’s already on,’ says cape CEO chris rittler to wired. ‘the aircraft can reach a location before officers get there by road and give them eyes on what’s going on.’