By April of 2023, the Saskatchewan RCMP aimed to have at least one Remotely Piloted Aircraft System, also known as a drone, in every detachment across the province.

That goal was set in January of this year as part of the RPAS Expansion Project, and to date, 33 per cent of the province’s RCMP detachments have an unmanned aircraft available to them. The project was created to help modernize police presence across Saskatchewan and keep up with technological advancements to help keep the public safe. So far, 29 front-line detachment officers have been trained as RPAS pilots.

There are two types of drones being utilized by the RCMP; the Sky Fury drone, which can fly up to 90 kilometres per hour, and the Mavic. which travels at 65 kilometres per hour.

The RCMP reminds the public that they are not utilized for widespread surveillance, instead they would be used, for example, in missing persons cases. For example, Meadow Lake RCMP recently deployed a drone after receiving a report of a missing hiker. The hiker was spotted by the RPAS pilot, who was able to identify the hiker’s GPS coordinates about 500 metres off the marked trail. Officers on ATVs were then able to locate the individual and bring them to safety.