Video: Volunteer drone pilots enlisted to tackle rural crime

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary is launching what is believed to be the first community drone project of its kind in the country, giving trained volunteers a direct role in helping police tackle rural crime.

The pilot will see five fully trained community volunteers called out by the police control room to provide drone support during live incidents.

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The technology will be used to assist officers responding to crimes including hare coursing, poaching and non-dwelling burglaries.

As well as supporting evidence-gathering, the project aims to improve intelligence-sharing between rural communities and police, with ambitions to recruit more volunteers if the pilot proves successful.

Inspector Stu Ross, who is leading the project, said rural criminals “cause continued misery” to farmers, landowners, gamekeepers and estate owners.

“It’s crucial that we all come together as a police service, as a partnership and as a community to tackle this,” he said.

He added that the project will enable the force “to bring the community into the heart of rural policing”.

Inspector Stu Ross with Hampshire and Isle of Wight PCC Donna Jones © The Office for the Police and Crime Commissioner

The volunteers’ skills will complement existing police technology, including drones, mobile ANPR and trail cameras, alongside the specialist knowledge of the Country Watch Rural Crime Task Force.

The Country Land and Business Association is also a key partner in the scheme.

The project has been made possible with funding from Test Valley Borough Council, North Wessex Downs National Landscapes (NWDNL) Farming in Protected Landscapes, and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones.

Rural crime blight

Ms Jones said rural crime is “a blight on business and rural communities”.

However, she described the drones as “a great asset for rural communities”, offering a “sustainable and proactive approach” to tackling crime, which she said is often linked to organised crime.

Richard Clarke, chairman of the NWDNL Farming in Protected Landscapes panel, said the scheme would help create “a safer environment for farmers, the local community and wildlife”.

Rural crime in Hampshire fell by 30% in 2024, but still cost the county an estimated £948,000, according to the latest NFU Mutual Rural Crime Report.