MARCH 18, 2019

President Piñera launches drone surveillance system in the Metropolitan Region

The initiative seeks to detect antisocial behavior, conduct preventive patrols throughout the region and obtain evidence against flagrant offences. The President stressed that "it is our duty to do everything in our power to make Chilean homes safer and more peaceful.”

On Monday President Sebastián Piñera unveiled the new Mobile Surveillance System in the Metropolitan Region, which through the use of drones fitted with cameras seeks to combat crime and help coordinate efficient and collaborative work between various regional and communal authorities to improve safety.

"It is our duty as a government to do everything in our power to make Chilean homes safer and more peaceful, and to combat crime with greater strength, resolve and efficiency," said the President in a ceremony that took place in the Plaza de la Constitución, alongside Interior and Public Security Minister, Andrés Chadwick, the Undersecretary of Crime Prevention, Katherine Martorell, and the Metropolitan Regional Governor, Karla Rubilar.

Before the ceremony, the President conducted a tour of the monitoring system facilities at the Metropolitan Regional Government Headquarters (Intendencia Metropolitana), which form part of the Technological Innovation program of the Undersecretariat for Crime Prevention and consists of the use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS).

These aircraft are equipped with high-definition cameras that gather visual information and stream it live to monitoring centers located in regional government offices, where trained operators observe the images sent by the drones. "This is a very powerful instrument that will complement a number of other tools that we are presently employing," said the President.

The project was first implemented in the Antofagasta Region, with three tele-surveillance brigades located throughout the region. From December 2018 to date, 747 effective flight hours have been registered, leading to approximately 70 arrests in different procedures assisted by the drones, which have also provided support in the search for people lost at sea, thus diversifying their use to various types of contingencies.

"Today we are implementing the extension plan to other regions, with 8 drones in the Metropolitan Region, which are linked up to control centers located at the Regional Government Headquarters, the National Police Force (Carabineros), the Investigations Police (PDI) and the Municipalities," said the President.

"In 2019, this project is going to be extended -in addition to the regions where it is already up and running- to the regions of Valparaíso, Biobío, Coquimbo and La Araucanía, in order to reach all the regions of Chile by the year 2020," said the President.