Upstate Sheriff’s Office adds drone with more technology to its force
The Anderson County Sheriff's Office recently added a new drone to its force. The agency started using the drone roughly 2 months ago. "The technology on it far surpasses what we've had previously," said Jon Norton, the ACSO's drone unit commander. The sheriff's office also has 4 smaller drones, but Norton said this new drone is larger and more high-tech. He said it is equipped with infrared technology, a greater zoom, a louder PA system and a better spotlight. He said it can also track cars and people. According to Norton, the drone can be used for different cases, including large events or searches for missing people or suspects. “We can actually do a better oversight with this because of the zoom, because of the amount of time we can be in the air, because of the tracking feature," said Norton. "If we do have an incident, we can single out the problem and track that problem even if it gets into a car and leaves, we can continue to track the car.” Norton said the sheriff's office has already used the drone for major cases. He said having a bird's eye view helps deputies. "I believe it changes the game because it gives a whole different perspective of the areas in which we're trying to come into," said Norton. "We come into a neighborhood or we can come into any kind of area or situation and we didn't have that bird's eye view previously. We can't see all the surroundings, we can't see anything kind of laying waiting for us. Now we can see that."Norton said it also makes it safer. “It makes it safer for the deputies and, at the same time, I feel like it makes it safer for the public when we can actually get out there and take care of issues a little quicker before they get out of hand," said Norton.
The Anderson County Sheriff's Office recently added a new drone to its force. The agency started using the drone roughly 2 months ago.
"The technology on it far surpasses what we've had previously," said Jon Norton, the ACSO's drone unit commander.
The sheriff's office also has 4 smaller drones, but Norton said this new drone is larger and more high-tech. He said it is equipped with infrared technology, a greater zoom, a louder PA system and a better spotlight. He said it can also track cars and people.
According to Norton, the drone can be used for different cases, including large events or searches for missing people or suspects.
“We can actually do a better oversight with this because of the zoom, because of the amount of time we can be in the air, because of the tracking feature," said Norton. "If we do have an incident, we can single out the problem and track that problem even if it gets into a car and leaves, we can continue to track the car.”
Norton said the sheriff's office has already used the drone for major cases. He said having a bird's eye view helps deputies.
"I believe it changes the game because it gives a whole different perspective of the areas in which we're trying to come into," said Norton. "We come into a neighborhood or we can come into any kind of area or situation and we didn't have that bird's eye view previously. We can't see all the surroundings, we can't see anything kind of laying waiting for us. Now we can see that."
Norton said it also makes it safer.
“It makes it safer for the deputies and, at the same time, I feel like it makes it safer for the public when we can actually get out there and take care of issues a little quicker before they get out of hand," said Norton.
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