Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has announced plans to deploy drones across every London borough within the next year, as part of a strategy to 'regain the advantage over criminals' through expanded use of new technology.
Current Drone Operations and Expansion Plans
The Met currently operates three drone sites with nine devices, responding to around 200 incidents per week. Response times for drones average about two minutes, compared to nine minutes for ground response officers. The force aims to have drone coverage in all 32 London boroughs by this time next year, building on a trial that began in October last year in Islington, the West End, and Hyde Park.
Sir Mark outlined the vision in a speech on Wednesday, stating: 'Drone deployments are growing, deploying to around 200 incidents a week. Response times are around two minutes, compared to the nine minute average response time for our response officers. And so in many cases, drones now arrive first. Providing live intelligence. Tracking suspects. Supporting officers before they reach the scene.'
Emergency Services Drone Network
The Met plans to establish a London-wide emergency services drone network in collaboration with the London Fire Brigade and other blue-light partners. The goal is a shared infrastructure covering airspace management, launch sites, connectivity, data, and control systems. Sir Mark emphasised: 'This should not just mean sharing drones. It should mean sharing the underlying infrastructure that makes them effective... Our aim should be a single, secure, coordinated infrastructure that allows police, fire and ambulance services to operate seamlessly as we protect the public.'
He added that this approach would reduce duplication, save time and money, and enable faster incident response. The national scheme to use drones as first responders has included pilot schemes in Norfolk, where limited access to police helicopters has driven adoption.
Expansion of Facial Recognition and AI
Alongside drones, Sir Mark highlighted plans to expand the use of live facial recognition (LFR) cameras and artificial intelligence. The Met currently uses LFR in static locations, and the commissioner argued that police cannot wait for separate legal frameworks for each new technology. He said: 'You can see our determination in the announcements today on LFR and drones to regain the advantage over criminals. I have been clear on the help we need to keep pace.'
Human rights group Liberty has called for a legal framework before further LFR deployment, but Sir Mark countered that policing must move faster: 'We have a choice. Policing already holds the data that could identify victims sooner, stop offenders earlier and prevent harm. But without the right technology, that insight remains hidden.'
Impact on Crime Fighting
The expanded drone programme is expected to enhance real-time tracking of suspects, locate missing persons, and reduce risk for officers. Sir Mark noted that drones are already 'perusing offenders, locating missing people and reduce risk in real time.' The commissioner's speech underscored the need for police chiefs to have greater freedom to adopt new technologies to keep pace with criminal use of advanced tools.
