Officers unveiled high-tech new tools in their arsenal on Thursday morning.
RCMP held an event Aug. 23 to display devices that officers are calling the Unmanned Aerial System.
The police now have two of the units, which can be used for aerial photography and video of crime and crash scenes.
“It is another investigative tool for documenting evidence and reduces risk to the public, police officers and other first responders in certain situations,” said RCMP in a release.“Not to be confused with a drone, the Unit is controlled by a trained pilot assisted by a payload operator and a safety officer from the ground,” said RCMP.
The costs for the systems are about $30,000 each.
The systems will be based in Brandon and Dauphin and won't be used for surveillance, but will help in search and rescues or disaster response.
Officials insist that privacy safeguards are also in place.
"We will only be in areas that are crime scenes, or traffic collisions or for identification," said Joanne Keeping from Traffic Services RCMP.
The devices include cameras that can turn 360 degrees and the units can fly for about 13 minutes. The units have also been built to withstand -40 C temperatures.
- with a report from CTV's Stacey Ashley
