Guatemala's police start a drone patrol pilot in five parts of the capital's metro area

Guatemala's National Civil Police (PNC) said it began watching five sectors of the metropolitan area with drones on Monday, 9 November, to prevent crime. The pilot plan will cover strategic stretches until the end of the year.

According to the PNC, the drones watch streets and avenues in real time to prevent robberies by people on motorcycles and armed attacks. When operators see something suspicious, they pass its location at once to officers on the ground. Flights by the Joint Operations Division and Station 14 cover routes from El Trébol towards El Tecolote and Calzada San Juan in zone 7, and towards El Molino and kilometre 14 in the direction of Calzada Roosevelt.

The plan was presented at a working meeting at the PNC's headquarters with several specialised and operational units.