Plainfield Police to Double its Drone Fleet

PLAINFIELD, NJ — At Monday's Plainfield City Council meeting, the governing body voted unanimously to allow the Police Department to purchase two new drones. Police Director James Abney explained that the PPD currently has two drones and two additional would allow for more versatility. The cost of the two drones is not to exceed $30,362.22.

"I'm trying to expand our footprint," said Abney. "I'll use them to patrol different areas during events, such as National Night Out, the parade, other things. I just want to give us more coverage of what could potentially go wrong or what is going on in crowds or different situations so that our footprint is larger. I can't put a cop everywhere, but with drones I can move them more efficiently throughout the city."

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE FREE TAPINTO.NET NEWSLETTER

Director Abney explained that some municipalities are using drones for mundane service calls, sending an unmanned aircraft instead of a police car. He said Plainfield is not to that point yet, but that the new drones will make the department more effective.

"We use them for all types of things. We can use them for searches for lost children or elderly persons in the community. We can use them for various other things. There's a lot that falls under [drones]," said Abney. "That's one of the big things that we want to talk about—search and rescue, and possibly investigations—but those are the main things that we're using them for now."

Abney said that while new technology is always a change that some people are slow to adopt, a lot of new, younger officers are clamoring for this type of technology. According to the Police Director, young officers have a lot of technological experience, including video games, that can make the transition easier.

"A lot of departments are going in this direction, especially larger departments," said Abney. "We want to be at the forefront, as always.

For more local news, visit TAPinto.net