Autonomous, small flying crafts that looked outrageously futuristic in the 1960s Jetsons cartoons are now improving police crime-fighting capabilities and overall public safety.
The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department has 13 drones supporting law enforcement officers, assisting in active crime situations and enhancing rescue efforts region wide.
“The Sheriff’s Department purchased two drones for Winnebago County in 2018,” said Sgt. Steve McCorkle, one of the department’s drone pilots. “Our crime scene techs use one, and the other one is used for patrol applications or community response issues like flooding, tornadoes and missing people…