From crime scene photography to searching for missing people, area law enforcement agencies are beginning to explore the use of unmanned aerial vehicles – more commonly called drones – for their use in law enforcement applications.

Late last month, Edmonson County Sheriff Shane Doyle used the department’s drone to search for an escaped jail inmate. He didn’t find the inmate with the drone, but it helped eliminate the need for a foot search on vast swaths of wooded land.

Land searches for escaped inmates, elderly dementia patients who have wandered off or for people who are simply lost can tie up a huge amount of resources and time. But drones can significantly cut down that search time and be a force multiplier in the hundreds by searching miles of land in a matter of minutes rather than days. 

“Obviously it takes the place of hundreds of people sometimes that we don’t have,” Doyle said. “We don’t have a helicopter. We will never have a helicopter. We don’t have a whole lot of resources at our disposal. 

“We were able to use some seized drug money to purchase (the drone). It didn’t cost a penny to the taxpayers. We are very happy to be able to utilize that kind of equipment to help the county,” he said.

The Warren County Sheriff’s Office does not have a drone or any immediate plans to buy one but employees have researched the issue, sheriff’s office spokesman Stephen Harmon said.

“We have done some preliminary research on what it would take to be compliant in owning a drone not only for law enforcement operations including the sheriff’s office and the drug task force but also emergency management for search and rescue operations,” he said.

Drone use is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration. Law enforcement users have to follow the same requirements and operating rules as business users or if law enforcement wants to operate a drone outside of those rules, an agency can apply for a public certificate of authorization.

Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport Manager Rob Barnett said the airport receives calls almost daily from a variety of people who want to know the rules of the air as it relates to drone use. In addition to law enforcement, businesses from construction companies to farms are finding uses for drones. 

“It’s certainly a concern for the airport,” Barnett said. “We monitor the usage and most folks do the right thing.”

The most important safety advice Barnett gives to drone users is to constantly keep the unmanned vehicle in sight and to watch for manned, low flying aircraft. 

Bowling Green Police Department Chief Doug Hawkins said the department is considering buying a drone during the next fiscal year that begins July 1.

“We are exploring that technology currently,” Hawkins said. “Like all technology, first we have to decide if it has law enforcement applications. If the answer to that question is yes, we have to decide the right time to invest in that technology. You can invest too soon where you spend a lot and get a little or you can wait for the right time where you get more value for your dollar and the technology improves, and that’s kind of where we are right now.”

The department has faced a couple of occasions in which an elderly person has wandered away and a drone could have been useful in searching for the missing person, he said.

“To do a foot search of a field or large area is difficult to do because of manpower and time,” he said. “These days unmanned aerial vehicles take the place of helicopters. We could typically take that kind of technology to look for lost or missing folks or if we have a suspect in an area, we have a way to look for that suspect without putting officers at risk. UAVs are a cost effective way to get an aerial view of an area for a variety of purposes. 

“I think in not so many years down the road most police agencies will invest in that technology for that reason. I think we will try to invest in that technology sometime in the next 12 months,” he said. 

The investment will not come without public education on the issue. 

“One of the things we recognize is we will have to have some public information about how law enforcement will use UAVs. We want to educate the public that we will follow all constitutional and legal requirements with respect to their use so that our community can have confidence in the way we would use that technology,” Hawkins said.

If an officer can’t go into a place to do a search, a drone cannot be an extension of an officer to search that place, Hawkins said. For example, a drone couldn’t be used to take a peak into a second story window for the purposes of a search without police first obtaining a search warrant or having some other legal justification for doing so.

“Case law and statutory guidelines related to search and seizure would be the same for a police officer searching an area as it would for a drone,” Hawkins said. “The federal laws are changing as we speak. We would work with Rob Barnett at the airport to make sure we have followed all of the federal guidelines for the registration of these vehicles as well as the training.”

Franklin Police Chief Roger Solomon sees the advantages of the technology for law enforcement but said the current cost is too high for his agency. The types of drones used by law enforcement can cost in the thousands, he said.

“It’s something I will look into for the future. I think it could be useful but right now” the department has no immediate plans for that type of purchase.

Butler County Sheriff Scottie Ward bought an inexpensive hobbyist type of drone to test out. But without a screen to view in real time what the drone is flying over, he hasn’t found the device to be useful. 

“I bought a cheap one just to see what you can take pictures from,” Ward said.

“It would be good for maybe like in a cornfield being able to spot marijuana,” he said. “It would be good for someone who may have wandered off in a wooded area. It would come in handy for something like that. If you had a major crime scene that you wanted aerial photos of, you could use it for that.”

If he had the funding, Ward would like to have a better quality drone with a screen providing instant imagery.

Logan County Sheriff Wallace Whittaker hasn’t bought a drone for his department, but has access to a device should the need arise, he said.

Logan County Clerk Scottie Harper, who is also a farmer and a firefighter with Olmstead Volunteer Fire Department, owns an FAA-registered drone that he bought to use for aerial photography of his farming operation. Harper has used his drone in the past to look for a missing person along a creek bank in Logan County and said he would provide the drone to law enforcement again if a department asked for his help.

“That’s the reward of being a volunteer,” he said of helping with a search and rescue operation.

— Follow Assistant City Editor Deborah Highland on Twitter @BGDNCrimebeat or visit bgdailynews.com.