Law enforcement use of drones

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Are police/law enforcement officers required to be part 107 certified? The question came to mind today when I read the following story. The drone was used to track down a suspect and while I agree it’s a great approach it seems like they would have to be 107 certified. The pilot of a helicopter would have to be certified even though they are working for law enforcement agency. Any thoughts? Walworth County officials use drone to catch fleeing suspect: ‘We were able to save him’
 
A few officers have mentioned that they use drones in their department and they were 107 certified, not sure about a requirement, I would think so based on they are getting paid while flying it.
 
Are police/law enforcement officers required to be part 107 certified?

It's just as important for a LEO drone operator to know the rules and regulations safeguarding the NAS and people/property on the ground as it is for anyone else.

They're operating outside of 'hobby exemption', so they would be required to comply with FAA regulations just like you and me.
 
Are police/law enforcement officers required to be part 107 certified? The question came to mind today when I read the following story. The drone was used to track down a suspect and while I agree it’s a great approach it seems like they would have to be 107 certified. The pilot of a helicopter would have to be certified even though they are working for law enforcement agency. Any thoughts? Walworth County officials use drone to catch fleeing suspect: ‘We were able to save him’

May be operating under an FAA COA which defines their rule compliance and training. Or 107 which is easier to obtain.
 
Are police/law enforcement officers required to be part 107 certified? The question came to mind today when I read the following story. The drone was used to track down a suspect and while I agree it’s a great approach it seems like they would have to be 107 certified. The pilot of a helicopter would have to be certified even though they are working for law enforcement agency.

Any operation outside of Hobby/Section 336 requires either a Public Use COA or a Part 107. Many departments actually utilize both because each one has very specific allowances and exclusions. The sUAS operator decides which option is best for a specific flight and the entire flight is conducted under the requirements of that option. Part 107 is much easier to obtain but it's also limited in some instances. Part 107 waivers are required if you need to operate outside of the standard allowances of it. They require you to submit a fairly lengthy request and usually a min of a 90+ day wait to hear back. Under a Public Use COA you can have those "exceptions" built into the COA so once it's issued you are more flexible should a unique situation comes up.

But the COA also has limitations. You aren't "normally" allowed to do things like fly for media/marketing purposes. You couldn't do flight demonstrations for public display. Granted it's possible if you "worded it right" (such as call them training flights) you could operate in the grey area but that's not how it's meant to be done. Also part of your COA is providing training within the Dept for new operators and recurring training for existing operators. Part 107 training is an excellent way to create your framework of training and build on it from there.

Nothing you do with/for a department can fall under Hobby/336 what so ever. Hobby/Recreation is something you do BY you and FOR you. You can't "Hobby" for someone else. That's why SAR operations also require Part 107 or a Public Use COA. You can't "help someone else" and fall inside the Hobby/Recreation/336 criteria.

I hope this helps shed some light on the situation. If not or you need more info just ask and someone will try to elaborate or word it in a different (probably better) way.
 
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Any operation outside of Hobby/Section 336 requires either a Public Use COA or a Part 107. Many departments actually utilize both because each one has very specific allowances and exclusions. The sUAS operator decides which option is best for a specific flight and the entire flight is conducted under the requirements of that option. Part 107 is much easier to obtain but it's also limited in some instances. Part 107 waivers are required if you need to operate outside of the standard allowances of it. They require you to submit a fairly lengthy request and usually a min of a 90+ day wait to hear back. Under a Public Use COA you can have those "exceptions" built into the COA so once it's issued you are more flexible should a unique situation comes up.

But the COA also has limitations. You aren't "normally" allowed to do things like fly for media/marketing purposes. You couldn't do flight demonstrations for public display. Granted it's possible if you "worded it right" (such as call them training flights) you could operate in the grey area but that's not how it's meant to be done. Also part of your COA is providing training within the Dept for new operators and recurring training for existing operators. Part 107 training is an excellent way to create your framework of training and build on it from there.

Nothing you do with/for a department can fall under Hobby/336 what so ever. Hobby/Recreation is something you do BY you and FOR you. You can't "Hobby" for someone else. That's why SAR operations also require Part 107 or a Public Use COA. You can't "help someone else" and fall inside the Hobby/Recreation/336 criteria.

I hope this helps shed some light on the situation. If not or you need more info just ask and someone will try to elaborate or word it in a different (probably better) way.

Thanks for the detailed information. Just what I was looking for and what I suspected. Know of a couple of guys that are operating outside of these restrictions but the attitude is “**** it, I am the law and don’t have time for this crap”. I don’t tolerate that kind of stuff but now I should be able to do some additional research and present facts, not conjecture.
 
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Government Entities
Government entities or organizations (e.g. law enforcement agencies, public universities, state governments, local municipalities) have 2 options for flying UAS:

  1. Fly under the small UAS rule – follow all rules under 14 CFR part 107, including aircraft and pilot requirements
    or
  2. Obtain a blanket public Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) – permits nationwide flights in Class G airspace at or below 400 feet, self-certification of the UAS pilot, and the option to obtain emergency COAs (e-COAs) under special circumstances
 
Our city attorney wants a COA.. But Risk Management (involved in locating an insurance policy for me and the sUAS) stated that insurance would not cover the PD unless I was a FAA Part 107 certified pilot.. Meaning a COA would allow self certification, but the insurance companies (that they contacted) would not cover me or the sUAS. Going deeper, I am allowed to allow someone else to fly as long as I can take immediate control should something happen. Risk management advised that as soon as I handed the controls over, we were NOT insured. Just my agency, others may vary.. So, as stated above, we are Part 107 and getting a COA.. LOL
 
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Our city attorney wants a COA.. But Risk Management (involved in locating an insurance policy for me and the sUAS) stated that insurance would not cover the PD unless I was a FAA Part 107 certified pilot.. Meaning a COA would allow self certification, but the insurance companies (that they contacted) would not cover me or the sUAS. Going deeper, I am allowed to allow someone else to fly as long as I can take immediate control should something happen. Risk management advised that as soon as I handed the controls over, we were NOT insured. Just my agency, others may vary.. So, as stated above, we are Part 107 and getting a COA.. LOL

Contract out those services? Might be something that retired officers could offer and resolve a lot of issues.
 
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Contract out those services? Might be something that retired officers could offer and resolve a lot of issues.


That's how it's done here. The problem is if the agency "needs" a COA those services can not be contracted out. The COA only covers agency/District owned aircraft.
 
I'm a retired Police Chief, now Part 107 drone (P4P) pilot. I am considering contracting to LE agencies, but haven't done anything about it yet. I think there is a market to smaller agencies and one-off needs for aerial assistance. I am not sure if an operation for Public Safety places it under that umbrella or if all of the requirements for Part 107 waivers would apply. Need to research it further. It doesn't seem that there would be time to request waivers in an emergency situation.
Phil
 
I'm a retired Police Chief, now Part 107 drone (P4P) pilot. I am considering contracting to LE agencies, but haven't done anything about it yet. I think there is a market to smaller agencies and one-off needs for aerial assistance. I am not sure if an operation for Public Safety places it under that umbrella or if all of the requirements for Part 107 waivers would apply. Need to research it further. It doesn't seem that there would be time to request waivers in an emergency situation.
Phil

For a dept they get a Public Use COA which gives them flexibility to build certain allowances (those that can be waived) into the COA. Also you can get what was once called an E-COA but has a different name now , SGI for Special Government Interest which allows for some quick approvals in certain specific instances.

An sUAS operator flying for a LE etc has to fly either under Part 107 Regulations or under the Depts Public Usa COA but they can't be combined. One or the other per flight.
 

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