SALEM — John Pelura has had an interest in drones since he first saw a demonstration by a university on a technology TV show about 15 years ago.
In the last few years, the flying gadgets have been hitting the commercial market with all kinds of different varieties and quality.
"A few years ago the Parrot AR drone came out," Pelura, the chief of police in Salem City, said. "It was about $300, but it was a toy."
He said he had been looking around for a more advanced model for a while, until he stumbled on something online in May. It was the DJI Phantom 2 with a 1080pd digital camera.
"I was like 'that's the one," Pelura said.
Unmanned drones have been making a splash in the last few years due to concerns about privacy and stories like one out of Cape May County, where a man was charged criminally for allegedly shooting down a drone with a shotgun in September.
Pelura's drone is small enough to fit into a bread box, and it's white shell blends into the sky as it climbs into the air. He said he understand's the concern for privacy when it comes to unmanned aircraft, and he tries not to push the limit when it comes to flying his drone.
The whole thing is controlled via wi-fi with a phone or tablet. The drone also connects to available GPS satellites to ensure that it can find its way back to the user.
It's connection to GPS also helps the drone stabilize. Even on a windy day, Pelura can take his hands completely off the controls, and the drone will just hover in spot, adjusting itself to compensate for gusts of wind.
The Phatom drone can reach speeds of about 30 mph, but Pelura said it can go even faster when it's going with the wind.
"In a wind like this, I've had it up to 47 miles per hour," he said. "It'll zip."
As for its range, Pelura has had his out to 3,600 feet and 400 feet in the air. The height is restricted to 400 feet by the Federal Aviation commission, but Pelura said it would be powerful enough to reach 1,000 feet if he were allowed to take it that high.
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Restrictions are also place on where drones can fly. The FAA released a list of "don'ts" about drones that included, "don't fly near manned aircraft," and "don't fly beyond the the line of sight of the operator." Pelura said if the drone's GPS notices it's near an airport, the software inside the drone won't allow it to take off.
Right now Pelura uses the drone just for fun, taking it out for flights in open spaces or taking it up to capture video of far away lightning storms. The camera sends back a low-definition video feed to help guide the drone and offers an option to capture hi-defnition pictures and video that can be downloaded once it returns to the ground.
As the city's police chief, Pelura wanted to make it clear that he has never and will never use it in a criminal investigation.
"I don't think there's any law that says when you can and can't use it," he said. "But I don't want to make case law. Plus, this is my personal drone."
There are currently bills in the New Jersey State Assembly regarding use of drones by law enforcement agencies and fire departments.
The bills basically say that drones cannot be used by law enforcement in a criminal investigation without obtaining a warrant. Any information illegally gathered by the use of drone would not be admissible in court under the bills. They also prohibit drones from being equipped with a weapon of any kind.
Even though he doesn't intend to use his drone in an official capacity, Pelura thinks drones could be valuable tools for training police and firefighters.
He thinks having a drone has helped him understand the ways that criminal might try to take advantage of their stealth and surveillance capabilities.
"It's difficult because no matter what rules there are, they won't follow them," he said. "I'm not sure if criminals have them yet, but I'm sure they will."
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