WEST MIDLANDS Police have unboxed a new piece of kit that will help keep communities safe and deter crime.
The new DJI Matrice 300 went on its maiden voyage this week above the skies.
It has also been used in the early hours of an arrest warrant that enabled officers to see who was at the address.
The force now have a total of eight aircraft with the latest high tech gadgets, which are able to stay in the air for up to 55 minutes and operate in bad weather.
West Midlands Police say the drones are an asset to the force and are now used 24/7 to help find vulnerable or missing people, track suspects, capture evidence at crime scenes and provide live aerial footage at events such as protests.
They are also playing a big part in the security planning for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
This month alone the drones have had successful results after being deployed.
In the last week they were deployed to an area of Birmingham after a stolen car was recovered and four people were arrested for burglary. At the same time in a separate incident, the thermal imaging picked up a heat source and officers found a large cannabis set-up across four rooms.
And when officers discovered a stolen car, the drones were deployed to provide live aerial footage and tracked a man who was subsequently arrested.
The drones are an excellent addition to police kit in the fight against crime and this year alone they have been deployed to more than 2,000 incidents.
Drones are being used to keep the public safe and catch criminals and bought with cash seized from criminals.
