The use of drones for criminal investigations

Uporaba brezpilotnih zrakoplovov prinaša mnogo prednosti v številnih panogah, med drugimi tudi na področju policijske in kriminalistične dejavnosti. V kriminalistični dejavnosti se uporabljajo predvsem pri iskanju pogrešanih oseb in storilcev oziroma osumljencev kaznivih dejanj, ogledih krajev kaznivih dejanj, opravljanju rekonstrukcij, preiskavi eksplozivnih teles in izvajanju prikritih preiskovalnih ukrepov. Služijo tudi kot orodje nadzorovanja v primerih preprečevanja in odkrivanja nezakonitih prehodov državne meje, spremljanja javnih zbiranj, varovanja oseb in objektov in varne izvedbe postopkov policije. V prihodnosti bodo brezpilotni zrakoplovi veljali kot eno najučinkovitejših pripomočkov pri kriminalističnem preiskovanju, saj bodo sistemi, s katerimi so opremljeni brezpilotni zrakoplovi vedno bolj tehnološko dovršeni, natančni in zanesljivi. Trenutno so najpogosteje uporabljeni sistemi za fotografiranje in video ter avdio snemanje, vendar proizvajalci nudijo še vrsto drugih sistemov, katerih cilj je čim večja avtomatizacija postopkov pri kriminalistični preiskavi. Možnosti in načini uporabe brezpilotnih zrakoplovov s strani policije so zakonsko določeni, saj lahko sistemi za opravljanje policijskih nalog zajemejo veliko število podatkov, kar predstavlja določena tveganja v povezavi s poseganjem v zasebnost posameznikov. V empiričnem delu smo s kvalitativno analizo podatkov intervjuvanih strokovnjakov iz različnih področij policijskega dela ugotovili, da bi bilo z uporabo brezpilotnih zrakoplovov policistom prihranjenega precej časa, zagotovljena bi bila večja varnost policistov in drugih udeležencev, stroški uporabe brezpilotnih zrakoplovov pa bi bili nižji v primerjavi s policijskim helikopterjem.The use of drones enables many advantages in numerous branches, among others also in the field of police and criminal investigation activity. In criminal investigation activity, they are mostly used in searching of the missing persons and perpetrators of crime and persons alleged to have committed offenses, visiting the crime scenes, performing reconstructions, investigating explosive devices, and performing undercover investigating measures. They serve also as a tool of surveillance in the cases of preventing and detecting the illegal crossing of national borders, surveillance of public assemblies, protecting persons and buildings, and safe performance of police procedures. In the future, drones will be considered as one of the most efficient accessories in a criminal investigation, as the systems equipped by drones will be increasingly more sophisticated, accurate, and reliable. Momentarily, they are most often used systems for taking photos and video and audio recordings. However, the producers offer a series of other systems whose goal is the highest possible automation of procedures in a criminal investigation. Possibilities and methods of use of drones by the police are statutory determined, as the systems for performing police tasks include a lot of data, which represents certain risks in connection with the infringement of privacy of individuals. In the empirical part, we ascertained by means of the qualitative data analysis of the interviewed experts from various fields of policing work that the use of drones would save a lot of time to police officers. Increased security of police officers and other participants would be ensured. Meanwhile, the costs of the use of drones would be lower in comparison with the police helicopter