Forth Valley police use drones to combat anti-social behaviour for first time

Police officers employed an “eye-in-the-sky” to patrol a public park which had become a hot spot for anti-social behaviour.
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For the first time in the Forth Valley area, police used drone technology to help them keep order and may have pointed the way to the future of policing.

As part of the anti-social behaviour quashing Operation Nippet, officers in Stirling used drones to patrol the skies above the Kings Park area.

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According to Police Scotland the high flying operation – which took place last week – was hailed a success and has received positive feedback from members of the public.

For the first time in the Forth Valley area police officers used drone technology to combat anti-social behaviourFor the first time in the Forth Valley area police officers used drone technology to combat anti-social behaviour
For the first time in the Forth Valley area police officers used drone technology to combat anti-social behaviour
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PC Stephanie Martin, of Stirling Police Station, said: “We had seen in increase in anti-social behaviour by youths in the Kings Park area of Stirling recently and the drones were used as an extra resource to the community policing team to support Operation Nippet.

“They allowed officers to scan the area in a very short time for signs of disorder, resulting in no calls or complaints to the police over the evening of Friday, July 16.

“Where it is clear to us that there is a particular issue in a particular area, we will devote the appropriate resources. It was encouraging to hear the local community support the use of drones in this way, as no one should tolerate abusive, anti-social or criminal behaviour.”

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Drones may be patrolling the skies, but officers are still on the beat so if you witness anti-social you can report it by calling them on 101.

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