News Releases

North Bay Police Service Expands Drone Fleet

January 28, 2025

The North Bay Police Service is expanding its drone fleet, ensuring officers are better equipped during active investigations and search and rescue operations.

The North Bay Police Service recently purchased a DJI M350 RTK large drone and a DJI Avata 2 small drone to augment its existing fleet of three DJI Mini 3 Pro drones, one first-generation DJI Avata drone, and one DJI M30T large drone. The addition of a secondary large drone allowed officers to maintain aerial observation during law enforcement incidents such as the pursuit of a suspect or the search for a missing person.

“Our current drones provide a significant advantage to our day-to-day work as police, whether we’re trying to locate a missing person or gathering evidence from a crime scene,” says Cst. Steve Sproule of the North Bay Police Service. “But there are limitations. Let’s say we are tracking a suspect who is fleeing from police. While we are doing so, we may need to change the batteries on our drone, with one drone that can take some time, but now with a second drone we can much more quickly deploy and never lose our vantage point.”

The large drones have maximum flight times of up to 41 to 55 minutes, depending on conditions, and can reach maximum heights of 5,000 to 7,000 metres above ground level. The height of a drone flight is limited in practice, because the City of North Bay is within controlled air space due to its proximity to CFB North Bay and the Jack Garland Airport.

The drones enhance police abilities in a number of different ways. The large drones are both equipped with thermal cameras and can fly in certain unfavourable weather conditions, which allows for improved visibility during missing person searches, particularly in remote and wooded areas. The improved vantage point also allows officers to better gather evidence and track wanted persons who may be trying to flee from police. The smaller drones are able to fly inside buildings, allowing police to ensure rooms are clear of threats when attempting a high-risk arrest.

Use of the drones is limited under existing regulations and case law. For example, the Police Service cannot use them to observe the interior of a residence for which a search warrant has not been granted by a judge.