Upper Makefield Police Taking Law Enforcement To New Heights

UPPER MAKEFIELD, PA — The Upper Makefield Police Department is taking law enforcement to new heights with the introduction of drone technology to its public safety arsenal.

"As technology advances, we must evaluate how we can use those developments to better serve and protect the public," said the department in a social media post. "Although, we do our best to cover the township from the ground, we wanted to be able to cover the township from the air."

The department has acquired a drone to assist its officers in search and rescue missions, evacuations, accident and criminal investigations, crime scenes, fire scenes, missing person incidents, fleeing suspects, community policing, crowd surveillance, disaster preparations, as well as assisting other township departments in the performance of their duties.

Officer Eric Farra, a four year veteran of the force, will be in charge of the drone having completed and passed an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) For Public Safety Course and the FAA Part 107 exam certifying him as a drone pilot.

The department has acquired a DJI Mavic 3T, which comes equipped with thermal imaging technology, a loud speaker system which can play recorded messages or use a talk to text feature, a spotlight, and a maximum speed of 47 mph in sport mode. It also has a 9 mile maximum radius although the department will be restricted to a line of sight maximum of three miles under FAA rules.

The acquisition was made possible through the support of Chief Schmidt and Upper Makefield Township officials.