Wired recently reported that the UK Home Office is preparing a national fleet of unmanned aircraft, but the surveillance-loving island nation has had a keen interest in drones for quite a while. Now, Merseyside police (who've had a drone of their own for about six months) are bragging about their first ever catch with the new toy. When coppers heard that a suspected car thief was hiding in the bushes, they wasted no time launching their Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with on-board thermal imaging -- which led them to the sixteen year old. In addition to the (alleged) perp, a twenty year old man was arrested in connection with the crime -- but his apprehension was done without aid of the UAV and, as such, not nearly as bad-ass. Both have been released on bail pending further inquiries, and both are believed to be looking into purchasing Parrot AR.Drones for themselves. You gotta fight fire with fire, right?
Filed under: Robots
UK police nab teen with $30,500 drone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 03:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


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