“Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operator Course for Public Safety” is a two-day course to be offered for the first time this March at Madison College. The safe, legal and ethical use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) – AKA drones – will be the purpose.

The course is a response to a growing interest in using drones for public protection. It was created as an opportunity for public safety officials to be trained on how to safely and legally use them before the state begins using them.

Public protection agencies have been increasingly eager to use UAV’s as a tool for their needs. A bill was passed in Wisconsin two years ago to allow their use in public safety services; along with that, the technology is cost efficient and highly useful. A drone is simply a high definition camera mounted on a small-unmanned aerial vehicle.

Drones are common enough technology even for personal use, yet could serve many purposes to law enforcement, firefighters and emergency response officials alike. They can be used for search and rescue, crash scene investigation, evidence search and documentation and tactical needs. Drones could take the place of the more expensive and dangerous helicopters in emergency situations.

Brian Landers, chair of the Criminal Justice Department at Madison College, describes the course as being broken up into three parts: Legal, Procedural, and Operational. The course teaches maneuvering techniques that would be beneficial in potential public safety emergencies. These techniques would include things like hovering the drone while keeping the camera focused on a fixed subject, or flying the drone low to the ground such as would be used to search for evidence in water or open fields. Landers says the classes will consist of only 10 students to ensure that everyone receives plenty of practice time with the drones. Landers also says legal and ethical guidelines are focused on in the course.

Drone use, and Madison College’s new training course, have been widely supported. The course has been featured in local media and was picked up by other markets across the country. Landers says they have seen interest by public officials from as far as Maryland who are looking to take the course.

However, the use of drones for public protection has gotten some negative feedback, too. Critics like Chris Ahmuty, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, fear the bill might allow for problems like invasion of privacy or unreasonable search and seizure. However, the law only allows drones to be used for search and seizure with a warrant, except for in emergency situations. Landers thinks the drones will be used more often in emergency situations, like fires, hostages and missing persons, over anything else.

Landers believes the drones will be a great tool for a community. He has confidence in the training at Madison College, along with law enforcement itself, to meet legal and ethical guidelines: “The UAV is not intended, nor trained, to be used improperly.” And he adds, “In my thirteen years training with the college, I have yet to hear of anyone we trained doing something unethical or illegal with the training we provide. That is not only credit to our staff, but the men and women who serve in law enforcement.”