When you’ve spent as long as I have in the police force (27 years!!), you can get to a point where nothing much surprises or fazes you. That was certainly me up until 2020 when I discovered the power of drones.
I held a range of roles in my time in the police force from firearms officer and road policing to lead investigating officer and trauma risk incident manager. But when I caught wind of drones and how they could assist the police and other emergency services in their work, I knew I wanted to get involved. I knew that drones could make a real difference to the police and the communities that rely on us.
So, in September 2020, I qualified as a drone pilot and was one of the first to obtain the Civil Aviation Authority General Visual Line of Sight qualification. I was deployed to a range of situations from crime scenes and road traffic accidents to natural disasters such as floods and storms. We also started using drones to help us police crowded spaces such as public events, protests, music festivals and football matches.
Of course, a drone can never replace a police officer but the impact they had on our operations was incredible. The oversight, insight and hard data they provided to us in near real time was invaluable and they are rapidly becoming a core tool in every police force’s box.
But like all good things, my career with the police came to an end in April this year but I knew I had only just begun my exploration of drones and what they are capable of. But knowing you want something and figuring out how to do it are two entirely different matters. I knew I had to find the right partner for this next phase in my career.
That was when I found Iprosurv. A well-established, nationwide, technically advanced company that had a real focus on professionalism and raising the profile of commercial drones was looking for new franchisees to help expand the reach of drones even further.
That sounded good to me and when I saw the enthusiasm for drones that Rebecca has and her conviction that our use of drones is still in its infancy, convinced me that I had found the perfect organisation to allow me to enter the world of commercial drone operations.
While it’s all very new, it’s all very similar at the same time. I have lots of practical experience in the kinds of applications that Iprosurv want to see drones being used in and the recent establishment of the Iprosurv training academy means that I can bring my experience to more and more pilots across the country.
It’s an exciting time for drone technology, for Iprosurv and of course for me. Like Rebecca I believe we have only just scratched the surface of what drones are capable of and I can’t wait to get started in spreading the word and the enthusiasm for drones far and wide under the Iprosurv banner.
“Martin brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Iprosurv and we are looking forward to supporting him on his journey with us, Martin due to his past experience will be a great asset and a great addition to the team especially in our security sector”
CEO Iprosurv Rebecca Jones
You can visit my webpage to find out more about me and the services I can offer HERE
You can also visit the Iprosurv opportunities’ page to find out more about being an Iprosurv Partner HERE
