“The introduction of this unit is expected to enhance the work our police do every day, from attending crimes scenes, managing emergency situations, public order management, search and rescue and situational awareness,” Inspector Shepherd said. “We will also be upskilling police across the state to ensure they have their own localised drone service." Inspector Shepherd said drones would also provide police with the ability to fly in and provide advice during tricky situations or supply first aid equipment or water. Drones are already being used to assess the impact of bush fires and other emergencies during Victorian summers. Credit:Joe Armao “The drones we plan to use will have a 24/7 ability, with high end technology allowing for both day and night camera vision," he said.

The drone unit, expected to be in full operation by the end of August, will see the force acquire up to 50 drones, with the devices also set to be used by specialist areas and regional officers. Loading A police spokesman said the Police Air Wing would be the central point for the organisation’s drone services, and manage the drones and staff training. The aim is for drone unit staff to progressively train other officers from specialist areas such as Operations Response Unit and Search and Rescue, along with regional officers to provide their own localised basic drone services. Acting Premier and Minister for Police Lisa Neville said every second counted during emergency incidents.

Loading "These drones can be rapidly deployed and provide police with the speed and flexibility they need,' Ms Neville said. “Police risk their lives for us every day and we’re proud to be delivering the resources they need to keep us safe.” The drones to be used by Victoria Police include the Matrice 210 commercial model, which comes complete with thermal imaging technology for night vision, an integrated camera system for HD video recording and inbuilt encryption technology. The smaller drones, the Mavic Pro, can travel at speeds of up to 64km/h.

Other states including NSW and South Australia already use similar technology with drones allowing police to assess dangerous situations including bomb threats and sieges as well as conduct covert operations and rescue missions. Liberty Victoria's Tim Warner said drones represented a far more intrusive mode of surveillance. "This has the capacity to look into people's balconies, backyards, and is far more personal in its intrusiveness," he said. "It would be an absolute boon to search and rescue, but that doesn't mean you want 'Constable Todd' to be looking over your balcony or back fence without some guarantees over what the restrictions and rules are about the use of the drones." This particularly applied to situations like AFL matches, he said. "If they've got a cause for concern, if they had prior knowledge that some person meant to cause harm or a brawl started you could easily launch [drones] in a matter of seconds.

"But the idea you need to be monitoring all over the place, checking if a person is shouting at umpires as we saw with the Behavioural Awareness Officers, is patently a step too far." In September The Age revealed that drones were on Victoria Police's wish list for 2019 in the hope they could hover over crowds at major events such as football finals and festivals. At the time the force's counter terrorism boss Ross Guenther said police had to pursue world-leading methods and technology with the threat of a terrorist attack ever present. He said countries such as France and the US were already using the new-age technology to monitor crowds at large public events. “If you have a concert in the park, you put a backpack down but walk on, a drone will stay on that and send images back to the police command post. We really are in the Jetsons-type age right now,” he said at the time.

Then, in December, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority announced the rollout of new technology across Australian airports to thwart drone attacks and track rogue drone operators within minutes. With the ever increasing risk that remote-controlled aircraft could bring down passenger planes, the aviation industry body said it was time to beef up the fight within 5½-kilometre exclusion zones around airports. Emergency Services Victoria already use drones to monitor the state’s high risk bushfire zones. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video It’s also anticipated that Victoria Police will later be armed with drone guns to allow trained officers to shoot rogue aerial devices from the skies as seen during the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Queensland.

Drone guns allow the user to sever the connection between the unidentified user and their drone, effectively sinking it from the sky with a signal jam. Queensland Police use DroneShield technology, as does the US military and UK army. A company spokesman said the Australia Defence Force has also used their technology to protect international leaders attending a 2018 summit in Sydney. It's understood that exemption from rules governing wireless interference is needed for the technology to proceed in Victoria. The Victoria Police Drone Unit will be launched publicly on Wednesday.

with Yan Zhuang