The Vicksburg Police Department (VPD) in Vicksburg, Mississippi is primed to acquire a UAS by the close of the fiscal year.

Last week, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen accepted an FAA certificate of authorization that allows the department to fly a UAS at or below 400 feet altitude.

Vicksburg's mayor, George Flaggs Jr., supports the department getting this new piece of technology.

“I think they are absolutely to be commended,” Flaggs Jr. says via the Vicksburg Post. “Anytime they can get another tool that the city of Vicksburg can use to prevent crime and monitor crime that’s absolutely good news.”

Moore says that the UAS will be used for a variety of purposes, including for crowd control at festivals to check out suspicious people or vehicles, as well as to survey an area and make sure it’s safe before sending an officer in.

Thus far, four of the department's officers have received their training and certification after attending a class on flying UAS in Natchez, Mississippi.

“We have a practice drone they can fly now so they can get used to flying a drone,” Moore says.

Once the VPD acquires the UAS, it will join four other law enforcement agencies in Mississippi that currently utilize UAS.