The Royal Malaysian Police will soon be unveiling its latest weapon against crime: drones. These unmanned aerial vehicles will assist police in monitoring situations and patrolling residential areas.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar has said that the police has already formed a PDRM Air Unit that will be using the drones, and are already in the training stage. Tan Sri Khalid also said that the drones would be deployed once the drone licensing is completed; which is likely to be at the end of this year.
Plans are also being made to include facial recognition systems, that would match faces to a database of wanted criminals, to the drones. However, no further details were provided about what this would entail.
Drones are becoming increasingly popular for a variety of work. The ability to get an aerial view without the use of a full sized aircraft has proven cost effective and efficient for businesses. Whether it will prove to be as useful for law enforcement has not been proven, although the idea is not new.
These drones will be deployed in the Klang Valley first, with no word on whether the programme will be expanded to other areas.
[Source: The Malaysian Insider]
