South Carolina Department Announces Acquisition of UAVs

The Georgetown (SC) Police Department announced on Facebook that it has acquired two new unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to assist in used for search and rescue operations as well as traffic collision reconstruction, active shooter incidents, crowd control, surveillance operations, and hazardous material incidents.

The agency said, "The drones are equipped with cameras, thermal imaging capabilities and they have the capability of public addressing."

"The drones are a valuable piece of equipment that will allow us to respond quicker in certain situations. We have had several missing person incidents in recent months and the drones will give us the ability to rapidly deploy an eye in the sky to assist in locating these victims," Chief Kelvin Waites said in a statement.

The department has three FAA-certified UAV pilots.