The West Midlands Police drone programme – working closely with the National Police Air Service (NPAS) – provides 24/7 unmanned aerial support to an area of 348 square miles, home to more than 2.8 million people.

With the unit attending more than 2,000 incidents in 2020 alone, West Midlands Police needed a powerful, intuitive system capable of managing the complexities involved in operating 32 pilots and its unmanned aircraft as part of the second largest police force in the UK.

Sgt Keith Bennett, West Midlands Police, says: “When we expanded the drone programme in October 2019 to offer 24/7 support, it quickly became apparent that our existing systems and operational processes were cumbersome, inefficient and time consuming.

“Centrik has streamlined every process into a single, intuitive platform that has significantly improved operational efficiency – it has meant our officers can now spend less time on admin and more time on policing.”

Originally developed for civil aviation, Centrik is the only fully ICAO and CAA-compliant solution that also specifically caters to UAS operations. The system provides a complete, configurable solution, managing workflows, tasks, equipment and logbooks, simplifying internal and external audit processes, as well as tracking pilot training and currency records, among a myriad of additional functionality available to all departments within an organisation.

“The system’s CAA support is truly what sets it apart. To increase safety and ensure compliance we can instantly file occurrence reports directly to the CAA via our Centrik dashboard. The system has even been specifically adapted to cut out the extraneous manned aviation elements that used to make the process so time consuming,” adds Sgt Bennett.

Centrik’s modular architecture can be accessed from any connected device, either on or off line, allowing pilots and authorised users to manage pre-flight checks, conduct risk and safety assessments and reports, as well as instantly input detailed flight logs out in the field. The system also accurately tracks all aircraft flight-hours, ensuring important service and maintenance schedules are always met.

To ensure total transparency, West Midlands Police has granted the Policing Crime Commissioner (PCC) access to its Centrik system, which provides complete operational oversight and helps demonstrate compliance as part of any subsequent audit process. Centrik’s comprehensive analysis tools will also help to drive continuous improvements in performance and efficiency.

“We’ve had a first-class service from Centrik, with the entire team always available and ready to offer us support when needed; the system has genuinely revolutionised the way we operate,” concludes Sgt Bennett.

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The operational management system – the only one of its type approved by Regulators to manage both manned and unmanned operations – has easily and effective co-ordinated activity for almost 50 police UAS pilots across South West England.

A collaboration between Devon and Cornwall Police and Dorset Police, the Alliance Drone Team integrates UAS into the emergency services environment, supporting law enforcement for missing persons searches, major events and firearms incidents.

“Centrik has been a pleasure to work with, and has helped us to continue to professionalise our drone operations across our three counties. The software has allowed us to effectively manage our pilots, equipment and deployments, whilst ensuring effective risk management and safety oversight across our two organisations,” says Sgt James Rees, Accountable Manager, Alliance Drone Team.

The system also enables the Alliance Drone Team to reduce its administrative burden while ensuring operations are compliant with the very latest regulations.

Rees says: “Before Centrik, we spent a lot of time on data input. Now, our officers have a far smaller administrative burden without compromising quality or safety.”

David Hunkin, Head of UAS at Centrik said: “Having already been adopted by NPAS, Centrik is uniquely well placed to help Police drone units reduce administration and set a new standard in UAS operational management, which is very exciting indeed.”

Widely used in civil aviation, Centrik is the only fully ICAO-compliant operational UAS management system for the emergency services providing a complete, configurable solution for managing tasks, equipment, training, logbooks and much more.

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