-Press Release, the City of Oxford

The City of Oxford announced its acquisition of an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) commonly known as a drone. Initial utilization of the City’s drone will be in its public safety departments but will eventually involve Engineering, Public Works and Planning and Zoning. Acquisition of the drone was made possible by utilizing matching funds made available through a grant award from the NC League of Municipalities.

Oxford’s UAS is a DJI Matrice 200 equipped with a Zenmuse XT2 FLIR (forward-looking infrared) camera. The thermal camera provides the City’s Public Safety professionals with a unique way to increase situational awareness and gather additional scene information. This technology can assist agencies in making crucial and time-sensitive decisions by giving real-time, first-person views of ever-developing scenes.

“Having an additional view from above a fast developing scene gives us the information needed to deploy our resources where the need is most critical and decreases the risk to the responder,” said David Cottrell, Oxford Fire Chief.

Oxford Police Chief Alvin Coley stated, “We are excited about the endless potential of this new piece of equipment and its ability to increase the quality of services that Oxford Police provides to the city and surrounding communities. The new drone will enhance Oxford Police’s ability to perform various law enforcement related tasks that we could not perform or would otherwise require the use of several man hours. In some instances, the drone could be used to provide lifesaving information during critical instances, and in the non-critical task, it could provide general information for planning events. Law enforcement, in general, has embraced this new technology and I’m sure Oxford PD will learn and grow in a positive direction as well from this new acquisition.”

Unlike a hobbyist or recreational drone, Oxford’s equipment must be flown by an FAA Part 107 UAS Pilot. This certification allows the pilots to fly commercially as government operators. These operators must also pass the North Carolina Department of Transportation Operator’s Knowledge Test and follow all requirements for annual training and recertification.

The City of Oxford’s UAS is registered with the Federal Aviation Administration and is marked with a unique identification number and name as required.

There will be a demonstration of the drone on Thursday, August 23, 2018, at 1 p.m. behind the swimming pool at the Masonic Home for Children, 600 College St., Oxford.