WESTBOROUGH, Mass. - It’s small but mighty and it’s helping the Westborough Police Department in a big way. 

“It’s awesome,” Officer Christopher Traynor said. “It really bridges the gap between where we can’t go in a moment and when we are waiting for extra resources to come in.”

The department got their first drone about three years ago. Now, they have a unit made up of nine members, including Traynor.

“In about under a minute, we can have it up in the air and beginning its search and flight to where it needs to get to,” Traynor said. 

Their drone flies as high as 350 feet, cutting the time to survey an area or document a scene almost in half.

“You wouldn’t think from this small little device and how big these wooded areas are, but we’ve had a lot of success stories,” Traynor said. 

The department used the drone in 2019 to find a domestic violence suspect who fled on foot. 

“Oddly enough, as the officer was looking down on the screen, he said ‘There he is,’” Traynor said. “He was able to go after him, which is really cool.” 

What You Need To Know

  • Westborough Police added a drone to the department three years ago, now they have a unit made up of nine members
  • Officer Christopher Traynor has been on the unit since August and says the drone is used weekly to assist calls
  • In 2019, it helped the department find a domestic violence suspect who fled on foot
  • It flies as high as 350 feet, cutting the time it takes to survey and area or document a scene almost in half

 

Once in flight, Traynor can see everything the drone sees. In minutes, he had eyes on all of Veterans Freedom Park. The department flies the drone about once a week to help with a variety of calls. 

“Anything from someone who runs away to a missing person,” Traynor said. “We were investigating the bridge strike with the tractor trailer.”

Traynor has been on the drone unit since August. 

“There have been a few times when I actually thought I found someone,” Traynor said. “Unfortunately, it’s been a deer.”

Not only is it fun to play with, Traynor said, using a drone helps the department further investigations and better serve the town of Westborough.