County To Acquire Night Vision Drones

By Reagan ConnellyJefferson County Commissioners voted to approve the purchase of night vision drones from Elite Unmanned LLC for $12,999. This will cost nothing to the county and is completely paid for with federal dollars from the EMPG grant.On Tuesday, June 28, 2022, John McKee met with the Jefferson County Commissioners to discuss the benefits of night vision drones for Emergency Management for Jefferson and Saline counties.Currently emergency management is using infrared drones. However, McKee said the night vision drones will be an upgrade. “It gives us a different look from what the infrared does,” he said. He added that while infrared is certainly a useful tool to emergency management, the night vision will enhance their ability to perform their work.McKee explained the emergency management teams and the night vision drones have lights. These lights will distinguish the “good guy from the bad guy.”Every deputy has an infrared light they can turn on that the night vision drone will identify thus helping teams distinguish friend from foe.“One concern we have from the trainings we’ve done is that the ‘Bad Guy’ or the person who we’re looking for blends in with the group that’s searching for them,” he said. “Without some form of identification, infrared does not cover that, it just finds warm bodies, whereas we can put on these lights and find out who’s good and who’s bad.”This technology will make it hard for a suspect to blend in with the searchers, McKee said. And this will ultimately help to find a suspect more efficiently.Additionally thermal cameras are less effective in the summertime due to the ground heat.It is unknown at this time when Emergency management will take delivery of the new drones.

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