The days of only having boots on the ground are now over for the Wendell police department.
Officers now have an extra pair of eyes in the sky thanks to two drones and equipment that town officials purchased for about $20,000.
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"It could help us know where to go, how quickly to get there, and what we're walking into," said Wendell police Sergeant Todd Williams just one day after the program initially launched.
According to Williams, the drones will be used to locate missing or endangered people, locate criminal suspects, investigate traffic crashes and crime scene reconstruction, and oversee special operations.
“We have a lot of schools in the community,” Williams said. “We have a lot of group homes, senior centers, and there's people with cognitive issues that sometimes wander off.”
Without the drones, Williams said the officers are on the ground searching for people that go missing.
“It kind of limits you to one field of view,” he continued. “The drones provide us with a second field of view, so we can look from atop and locate these people quicker and more efficiently, especially when it's hot or when it's very cold.”
The drones are equipped with heat-detecting cameras, live tracking capabilities, remarkable zoom, and the ability to measure the distance between the camera and its subjects.
WRAL News has covered the Burlington Police Department utilizing drone programs last year to help with fighting crime and protect communities.