The Fiji Police Force will now be equipped with high tech drones it plans to buy to enhance its capability and services to the general public.

This revelation was made yesterday by the Commissioner of Police Brigadier-General Sitiveni Qiliho yesterday during the handing over ceremony of 23 leased vehicles to the Police Special Response Unit in Nasinu.

During the New Year’s street party in Suva Police had hired a drone which was used successfully for its operation.

“Now we’re going to buy a few drones to help in our aerial mobility,” Brigadier-General Qiliho said.

The drones would be helpful in gathering information about a target from a distance or altitude.

It will go a long way in boosting among other benefits the capacity and  efficiency of the Police in its battle against crime.

According to Wikipedia – “Drones are the latest new toy for cops to pose the policing versus privacy issue. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) offer law enforcement agencies a bird’s eye view of crime and disaster scenes that they may not otherwise be able to get.”

It adds – “One of the most significant benefits of unmanned aerial vehicles is their ability to easily get to places where it would be costly or dangerous for us humans to go. That includes not only high in the air above buildings and trees, but also into active natural disaster areas and ongoing crime scenes. They are also used for search and rescue, hazardous material spills, mass evacuations, and aerial viewing of fires or tracking fire personnel in dangerous settings.”

According to Wikipedia drones are equipped with different state of the art technology such as infra-red cameras (military UAV), GPS and laser (military UAV). Drones can be controlled by a remote control system or a ground cockpit. … An unmanned aerial vehicle system has two parts, the drone itself and the control system.

A report from Shenzhen, China said a Shenzhen-based company called Da-Jiang Innovations Science and Technology Co. (DJI) claimed 70 per cent of the world’s market for drones.

It said the fire department in Oakland, California, used a drone after a deadly warehouse fire in 2016 to scan for hot spots that weren’t extinguished, a job that’s both difficult and dangerous for a person to do.

“Most drones in the United States — about 80 per cent — were made by China’s DJI, with the phantom being the most popular model, according to the research.”

A report from the USA says the No.1 drone for sale right now on Amazon costs US$130 ($265.39) and many drones sell for under US$50 ($102.070).

Yet the release of a US$499 ($1018. 07) drone, The Spark by DJI, the world’s largest consumer drone maker, stands as a significant milestone in falling drone prices.

The Spark can be controlled with a smart phone or even hand gestures, is remarkably easy for even a novice to operate, and “shoots superb high-definition video,” according to a New York Times’ review.

Drones according to the Brigadier-General Qiliho would help in capturing marijuana farms in the mountainous areas that could not be accessed by Police.

With drones the commissioner said they would improve on their aerial mobility, the new vehicles would increase their land mobility and the force would repair its boats and buy new ones to increase their water mobility.

NO TOLERANCE ON ABUSE OF VEHICLES

Brigadier-General Qiliho yesterday warned all officers on the abuse of Police vehicles.

“I have just received a report of a vehicle involved in an accident at the weekend when it was returning from the home of the officer involved,” he said.

He said they were investigating the case and he knew the driver of other vehicle was at fault, but as for the abuse of the vehicle the officer concerned would be terminated.

Police vehicles are only used for policing and community purposes.

With the addition of 23 leased vehicles from Kia Motors and Asco Motors yesterday there were a total 295 vehicles in use by the force.

The onus he said were on the commanders, supervisors and station officers.

“All vehicles should be properly serviced and all those in the force should look after Police vehicles properly,” he said.

ON ACCOUNTABILITY

He emphasized to all officers the need to continue with their good work.

“You will be held accountable for what you do,” he said.

“Your good work will be highlighted in the 2017 crime statistics soon to be released.

“The preliminary crime statistics for 2017 is encouraging.”

He said the force supported accountability in all departments.

COURT ACTION

The Police Commissioner yesterday confirmed that they would be taking court action against a media organisation for an article it reported at the weekend.

CYBER CRIME

More Police officers would be sent overseas for cyber crime training.

“We need our men and women to be professional in this area because cyber crime is now a concern to the Force,” he said.

SCAM ALERT

The pubic have been alerted on a scam.

People involved call a +231.

Police has advised all not to receive any call from that number.Edited by Percy Kean

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