• Exclusive interview with Superintendent Taryn Evans, strategic lead for the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Drones Team;

• Supt Evans discusses the NPCC's Drone as First Responder programme, including how it can benefit UK policing;

• DFR involves strategically-located drones launching remotely, arriving at the scene of an incident within two minutes, and streaming real-time footage to officers in a central control room;

• The Met Police has launched a DFR programme in London - using DJI Dock 3 - and follows numerous successful DFR projects throughout the UK;

• heliguy™ is a proud partner of UK blue light organisations - including DFR programmes - and can help Forces start and scale their operations with drone technology.

“We want to put policing on the front foot, and Drone as First Responder (DFR) can help achieve this.”

That’s the view of Superintendent Taryn Evans - strategic lead for the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Drones Team - as she describes the transformative impact of DFR to bolster emergency response on the frontline.

It is, after all, a game-changing concept, ushering in a new era of urban blue light deployment.

Ready-to-fly drones, launched remotely from strategically-located docking stations, can reach a scene in under two minutes and transmit live video to a central control centre, providing rapid and accurate situational awareness.

This innovative approach - spearheaded in the UK by the NPCC and built on the foundations laid by traditional police drone use - is designed to:

• Enable officers to act faster, stay safer, and support communities more effectively.

• Ensure better deployment of resources.

• Provide early visual evidence that strengthens cases and streamlines criminal justice.

And it’s a solution that’s gaining momentum.

In October 2025, DFR went live in London, with Met Police deploying DJI drone-in-a-box systems in Islington.

It follows 18 months of trials throughout England, with test beds in areas such as Norwich, Southampton, Gravesend, the Isle of Wight, the West Midlands, and Cleveland.

And it’s already bringing results for city-centre policing.

“DFR has enhanced our response to a number of live incidents, and each one has further demonstrated its value in keeping our communities safe,” said Supt Evans.

“What DFR gives us is a hyperlocal, very proximate air support solution that will get to the scene of a call to police within 90 seconds in most places. It is safe, effective, and efficient.”

DFR goes live in London

Bringing automated and remotely-controlled drones to the skies above London is a defining moment for the Met and the NPCC’s DFR initiative.

DJI Dock 3 units with thermal M4TD drones are located on rooftops in the borough of Islington - ready to offer on-demand round-the-clock capability.

And the Met is aiming to roll it out to two more sites across London before the end of 2025, covering the West End and Hyde Park.

“This would provide us with three overlapping Venn diagrammes, affording us good coverage throughout the West End, which is our highest crime area,” says Supt Evans, of the Met Police.

Drone as First Responder: Safety and risk management

The London initiative is DFR in its truest form: Drones launched remotely in a busy city following a police call, flying beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), arriving first on scene, and keeping officers informed from afar.

A project of this scope breeds a risk vs reward scenario - with a delicate trade-off between enhanced policing and the complex challenges of operating in a dense urban environment.

To ensure the highest safety standards, the London DFR programme incorporates a comprehensive suite of mitigation methods to counteract potential airspace conflicts and meet strict regulatory requirements.

This includes:

• Layered detection capability, including RF, radar, and cellular, for real-time airspace awareness.

• Software alerts.

• Drone parachutes for emergency fail-safes.

• Deconfliction through Airbox with crewed partners.

Supt Evans acknowledges the need to balance innovation with accountability, but with these safety mechanisms in place, she believes now is the time to take the initiative.

She said: “The regulator and the police have similarities in their culture when it comes to risk assessment and minimisation, but we also have the important duty of keeping our communities safe.

“I think the public expects us to be employing and exploiting available technology in support of this mission, so sometimes you have to be bold.

“We have high crime demand now, so if we have a means to tackle crime, and provide our officers on the ground with more support and more information than before, then we are going to do it.

“This is a strong message to send to people who are looking to commit offences in our capital. We are committed to doing this, and doing this safely.”

DFR has undergone thorough testing

Supt Evans points to the fact that the NPCC’s DFR programme has been running for a year and a half, involving forces such as Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary and Thames Valley Police Joint Operations Unit, Norfolk Constabulary, West Midlands Police, and Cleveland Police.

The trial sites have tested different aspects of overall DFR capability in varying environments, including hardware/software solutions, operational safety, and integrating remote deployments into ‘business as usual’ policing.

The trials have also moved through a phased approach: From VLOS missions to extended VLOS on the ‘urban fringe’, BVLOS with observers in the middle, before going live in city centres.

“DFR is new in the context of London, but it is not brand new in the wider context of what we have been doing over the past 18 months,” she said.

Earlier Drone as First Responder results point to a successful future for UK policing

The trials have brought success - verifying the tactical benefits of DFR.

In Southampton, DFR drones have been first on scene to a number of serious incidents, including a recent lorry fire outside a shopping centre — helping coordinate cordons and evacuation.

Meanwhile, in Norwich, DFR has helped to reduce demand for the National Police Air Service (NPAS), Supt Evans said.

These early triumphs, along with the DFR trial going operational in London, are encouraging signs, providing a springboard for further adoption throughout the UK.

“I think this will accelerate DFR, and we have other forces waiting in the wings,” said Supt Evans.

“London will be pushing the envelope and carrying the torch because of the sheer amount of calls we’ll receive, but all of the DFR operations are working really well, and each area offers different prospects - it is not one size fits all.

“It gives us a good model to say, depending on the size of demand, and the airspace you operate in, if you want to do DFR, it will look a bit like this. This will be a huge help to those forces who are watching with intrigue to see how it goes.”

Building a framework for the future

DFR is part of a larger NPCC Drones programme, which is establishing robust governance, standardisation, and sharing expertise across the UK’s wide network of police drone operators.

Supt Evans said: “Police forces around the country are the pioneers and they have been at the forefront.

“They have shared their knowledge and resources to help us build, at a national level, a framework that is safe and effective for all of them.

“What we are doing, in consultation with them and our other partners, is coming up with a model that consolidates all of this and recommends a range of best practices - from drone operation to training, and to help remove certain aspects that local forces shouldn’t have to wrestle with.

“We’re giving them those guard rails, but the framework will not dictate local drone use: We want it to help them and protect them, but not direct them.”

Drone as First Responder part of a 'layered air support model'

While DFR is gaining momentum, Supt Evans believes it will not replace helicopter support or mobile drone units operating VLOS (visual line of sight).

Rather, Supt Evans describes DFR as part of a ‘layered air support model’, where Forces select the most suitable tool.

She said: “This is about giving officers the tools they need. It’s not about replacement. It’s about drawing from whichever layer is most appropriate — helicopter, mobile drone, or DFR.

“The mobile units have been really important: They have established drones as a policing tactic before BVLOS was possible, and these teams are very much the subject matter experts.

“DFR systems will focus on urban and high-demand environments, while the mobile units remain crucial for specialist deployments or more rural operations. It really isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, and there will be an exchange in demand between them.”

DJI ‘been a great partner’ for DFR

Supt Evans said that DJI’s ‘market-leading’ technology has played a crucial role in the development of drone police use, and has been integral to the early stages of DFR.

But while they’ve been ‘solid partners’, Supt Evans says it isn’t a closed shop.

However, she said that all solutions would undergo thorough testing and evaluation and there would be no ‘knee-jerk reactions’.

“The way I see it is that we will be working on a menu of options, but everyone will have the choice to choose the best product for their needs,” she said.

Collaboration with the UK CAA

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) plays a crucial role in shaping the legal and safety frameworks that enable DFR.

Supt Evans says the NPCC has worked closely with the CAA, but acknowledges regulatory challenges still exist.

She said: “The CAA doesn’t have a suitable framework yet to enable police and wider government use of drones. We use drones differently to commercial operators, with a different calculation for risk.

“With the CAA, we have developed a framework that helps us understand and document what we are doing, and we think we are moving in the right direction to make this fit for purpose for police operations. We will continue to share data with them, be transparent, and we hope this relationship continues.”

heliguy™’s Perspective: DFR - Powering the next generation of police drone innovation

DFR is no longer a concept — it’s an operational reality reshaping how UK policing responds to emergencies. It embodies a proactive, intelligence-led model built on speed, accuracy, and community safety.

As more forces prepare to adopt DFR, the NPCC has laid the groundwork for a national blueprint, demonstrating how technology can support — not replace — human decision-making in critical moments.

At heliguy™, we are proud to support UK policing with industry-leading hardware, training, and consultancy, helping agencies build resilient drone programmes - including DFR initiatives - that meet real-world challenges.

From Dock-based solutions to BVLOS training and regulatory support, heliguy™ remains committed to empowering frontline services with tools that deliver safety, insight, and speed — when every second counts.

heliguy™ supplies, supports, and trains blue light organisations throughout the UK, including DFR projects. To find out how we can help your Force start and scale drone technology, contact us.