Beverly Hills' new pilot program uses drones to help police

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Police in Beverly Hills are using drones to help officers.

Earlier in the week, Beverly Hills Mayor Lilli Bosse took to social media to announce the pilot program involving the Hawkeye drone to help assist the city's police department.

"As part of BHPD’s Real Time Watch Center & its high resolution camera, Hawkeye helps our officers stay on top of any situation and keeps our community safe," Bosse said on her social media post.

In a video shared by BHPD, the department's lieutenant Robert Maycott marveled over the drone's ability to help the officers respond to crimes like robberies and tracking suspect vehicles.

"When we get a radio call, we could actually launche Hawkeye, which is our call sign for our drone, see what the area is, where the radio call is, and prepare the officers and let them know what we see first. It's called DFR: drone as a first responder," Maycott said in a video shared by BHPD.

"It's that added officer safety. It's an added situational awareness. Embracing that technology and using it to our advantage," Maycott adds.