Linn, Wisconsin Police Department Expands Drone Program After Initial Success

NEW YORK, New York — The Town of Linn, Wisconsin Police Department recently expanded their drone program as part of its mission to ensure public safety. The department partnered with Adorama Business Solutions, the premier technology resource for corporate, educational, and government institutions, to help procure additional drone technology after seeing significant success with the program’s first deployment.

Beginning with a DJI Inspire 1, the Town of Linn Police Department has steadily grown its drone fleet to reduce the amount of time and manpower needed to respond to a myriad of situations and ensure resident safety. The equipment arsenal now includes an Autel EVO II Dual 640 system, as well as an underwater ROV Drone, the Fifish V6, to assist in water-related incidents such as dredging/waterway management projects, or water supply line inspections.

“The amount of time and resources we save by utilizing the advanced search capabilities of drones has saved us thousands of dollars in costs,” said James Bushey, Chief of the Town of Linn Police Department. “When it comes to allocating budget dollars to upgrade our equipment when needed, our community and town board both see the extreme value in this equipment, as much of our drone program to date has been funded by donations. A majority of our large-scale work utilizes drones, and we have seen tremendous success with the program. There is no question that drones will stay at almost the center of how our department does its job.”

Notable scenarios where the department has had success since the inception of the drone program include:

K9 Units Overwatch: After assisting the county with a search of a suicidal subject, dog handlers saw how well drone thermal imaging works to give them a larger overview in rural search settings. Due to this, they had the department set up to be auto aid called in to provide overwatch and help indicate where persons of interest are located.

Civilian Search Efforts: In the last 18 months, the department has had two search cases where the use of drones has successfully saved lives. In one instance, an Alzheimer's patient wandered away from her home in the late night/early morning hours, while in extremely cold temperatures. The home agency requested the department to assist in locating her. Within15 minutes, the department found her and got her back home safely before hypothermia set in. In another case, the department was called in to search for a suicidal subject, who overdosed on prescription medications and wandered into the woods. After hours of searching, the home agency had indicated the department could give up, as it seemed like the person would be impossible to locate. The department stayed and 15 minutes later the subject was located and was able to get to the hospital in time to save his life.

Additionally, officers from the Town of Linn Police Department have utilized the drones for jobs that they didn’t necessarily expect, such as assisting in building inspections on town-owned buildings to see where thermal loss is occurring in HVAC systems, and aerial road inspections to help out the highway department on repaving projects. The department has even done presentations to their local grade schools and groups like 4H, and church youth groups to show how and what technology is used in today's law enforcement.

With the success and growth of the drone program, Chief Bushey has also expanded the department’s training techniques. The department utilizes the NIST (National Institute of Science and Technology), which provides more structure to the training program, teaching officers how to search in both rural and confined spaces. Additionally, officers take part in routine refresher courses on everything from cold weather operations to night flight operations and more.

For more information on how Adorama Business Solutions Law Enforcement specialists can help incorporate drones and other technology equipment into your department, please visit www.adorama.com/abs.