Flying start For a unit that has only been operational for less than six months, Victoria Police’s Remote Piloted Aircraft and Systems (RPAS) Unit, better known as the Drone Unit, has had a busy start to working life.
acting as a communication tool in emergency management situations or providing police with a better angle when monitoring public order.
From helping Victorian firefighters battle an underground fire over summer, to providing valuable eyes in the sky to help slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), the unit and its battery-powered quadcopters provide a valuable 24/7 resource.
“When the drones are deployed, the camera on them has a 3km total reach,” Insp Shepherd said.
The unmanned aerial drones can support a wide range of police operations, including forensically documenting crime scenes,
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POLICE LIFE | WINTER 2020
Being these extra eyes in the sky is how the drones proved to be helpful during Victoria Police’s coronavirus response. With the Chief Health Officer (CHO) restricting gatherings of people to different sizes at different stages of the pandemic, the Air Wing, which consists of police helicopters and the Drones Unit, was tasked to patrol popular locations for unlawful gatherings. Police Air Wing Inspector Craig Shepherd said having the Drone Unit meant more areas were able to be patrolled each day, assisting in breaking up large gatherings and helping slow the spread of the virus.
“This meant we were able to task a drone to the St Kilda pier and from that one drone we had a view all the way up to Station Pier in Port Melbourne and then down to Elwood Beach.”
According to Insp Shepherd, the ability to have a drone operator from the squad working in the local area, accompanied by frontline police, meant they were able to quickly identify and talk to people breaching CHO directions. “Whenever the drones were out, the operator was accompanied by members from the Public Order Response Team or the Mounted Branch,” Insp Shepherd said. “These officers were able to look at the footage and then head down to areas where large gatherings or breaches were identified and ask people to move on.” During the bushfires earlier this year, the unit also proved to be of great assistance to other emergency services. When an underground fire was threatening to destroy a major gas pipeline into New South Wales, the Drone Unit was able to help Victorian firefighters assess the blaze. RPAS Acting Senior Sergeant Adrian Morley said the blaze would ordinarily have taken days – if not weeks – to assess, but the unit was able to make the process simpler. “The fire agencies had to dig trenches either side of the pipe and flood them to make sure the peat fire didn’t come into the pipe.
