Cleveland Police using drones as vital 'eyes in the sky'
The force is the first in the north to implement the technology
Cleveland Police say they're the first in the north to use a drone as a 'First Responder' (DFR) to incidents helping to catch criminals and finding vulnerable missing people.
They're the latest to implement the concept as part of a national programme which revolutionises how policing responds to incidents.
DFR sees drones stationed in weatherproof boxes at locations across the force area. They can be launched and piloted remotely from Cleveland Police’s control room.
The strategically placed drones are able to launch and travel to the scene of an incident in as little as 90 seconds, quickly giving a live-time view of what’s happening so resources can be effectively deployed.
The drone pilots can use the drone to follow or locate a suspect, directing officers on the ground to find and intercept them and to quickly respond to reports of vulnerable missing people, getting an almost instant aerial view to aid their location
The drone’s imagery is then available for subsequent investigation or prosecution.
At the end of the task, they will return to their boxes and re-charge to prepare for the next deployment.
Cleveland Police offered to adopt the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) drones programme due to the force’s advanced work in using drone technology to support community and officer safety.
Since the beginning of this year, DFR has already deployed to 73 live incidents across the Cleveland area. DFR adds additional capacity to Cleveland Police’s fleet of “business as usual” drones, which were deployed 2,185 times during 2025. There are 59 pilots trained across the Force, who can deploy drones to incidents including searching for missing people or tracking illegal off-road bikes, and they can be utilised during pre-planned policing operations.
Temporary Chief Superintendent Martin Hopps, Head of Operations at Cleveland Police, said: “Drones have proven to be an invaluable asset for policing in Cleveland, and DFR will only add to this, by improving the effectiveness of our incident response and enhancing early evidence capture at the scene.
“As the first northern force to adopt DFR proactively, we hope to lead the way with this innovative technology in order to protect our communities and tackle criminals.”
Superintendent Taryn Evans is strategic lead for the National Police Chiefs’ Council Drones team. She said:
“Cleveland Police is the latest force in our early adopters to take on the DFR concept, building on the success of trials in other force areas and embedding it into operational policing.
“The team were already advanced in their use of drone technology so introducing DFR was the natural next step in the force’s innovative approach to tackling crime.
“It’s been really positive to see the force embracing this technology so readily and with several success stories already, we look forward to seeing how things develop.”
DFR is part of a larger NPCC drone programme, which is establishing robust governance, standardisation and sharing of expertise across the UK’s wide network of police drone operators.
The work to date has focused on improvements to the way the 500 drones already flown by UK police officers are operated within visual line of sight (VLOS). This should lead to increased confidence in police drone operations by the regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, which should in turn facilitate an easier transition to beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) and DFR operations in the future.
There are currently several DFR trials and early adopter sites being overseen by the NPCC; Norfolk Constabulary, Thames Valley Police/Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary, West Midlands Police, North Yorkshire Police, Cheshire Police and the Metropolitan Police.