Drones helped to locate more than 1,500 suspects, missing people, and vehicles in just 6 months, according to recent data released from the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC).

The figures came as part of a statement from Superintendent Taryn Evans, in an update on the NPCC's UAS programme.

Supt Evans, who is responsible for the NPCC's BVLOS Pathway Programme, paid tribute to 'our dedicated pilots up and down the country' who deployed 26,584 times across a total of 8,953 minutes, from October 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.

During this period, UAS helped find 721 suspects and 649 missing people, and locate 163 vehicles.

As part of the update - released on the NPCC's website and headlined: Drone technology improving officer and community safety - Supt Evans also outlined how work is ongoing to develop a Drone as First Responder (DFR) operating model, with numerous trial sites now in operation.

DFR is an innovative method of public safety where drones are strategically-located in docking stations and are deployed remotely to be first on the scene and feed real-time information to command centres for enhanced situational awareness.

She said: "It’s been just over a year since I took on the national BVLOS programme for policing.

"There’s always more work to do on a programme of this scale, working with technology that develops at this pace, but I think it’s worth taking a moment to celebrate the achievements of our team and of drone units up and down the country over these past few months."

She added: "There’s a lot of work ahead of us next year, but it’s all been made that bit easier by these developments.

"None of it would be possible without our extended network of professional pilots who give their time and expertise freely, often in between long and tiring shifts, all because they want to see this technology embedded in policing with the purpose of protecting their communities and their colleagues."

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