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ATLANTA — The FBI and the Atlanta Police Department are preparing for a massive security operation ahead of the World Cup semi-finals between England and Argentina at Atlanta Stadium.
Both agencies have used drones to search for potential threats on the ground and in the sky. The FBI is enforcing the Federal Aviation Administration’s temporary flight restrictions around the venue.
The FBI has confiscated more than 600 drones nationwide since the World Cup began. Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta Field Office Marlo Graham said 86 of those drones were seized in Atlanta.
Graham said the FBI uses a “mechanism” that allows agents to view unauthorized drones in restricted airspace. Agents then work to mitigate the threat posed by unknown drones.
“We’ve been able to safely land drones that have been unauthorized in the restricted area,” Graham said.
The FBI has confiscated more than 600 drones at World Cup events since the tournament began. (FBI Atlanta)
While the FBI treats each drone as a potential threat, Graham said the threat level can increase depending on the drone’s size and how close it gets to the stadium.
“Obviously, the closer to the venue, the bigger the crowd. We’re lucky here in Atlanta that we have a closed dome stadium,” Graham said. “We don’t want the game to be affected because a hobbyist couldn’t control their drone and it lands just as one of our star players was getting ready to score a goal.”
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The Atlanta Police Department’s drone unit has helped the FBI track down people suspected of flying in restricted areas.
Sgt. Kindu Franklin said most people caught flying drones around World Cup venues are hobbyists with no intention of harming the crowd of soccer fans below.
“In some cases, they’ve recently bought a drone for FIFA to get some of the cool footage that they want to put up on their social media,” Franklin said. “There are different ways you can arm these drones. So we’re operating in a proactive way.”
The Atlanta Police Department’s drone mission at the World Cup focuses on surveillance. (FOX)
The Atlanta Police Department’s drone mission is focused on surveillance. The officers are looking for potential threats, traffic problems and people the FBI suspects of flying drones illegally.
“So what we want to do is give our command staff a view that they can’t get off the ground,” said Sgt. James Cunningham with APD’s Drone Unit.
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Cunningham’s device can launch drones remotely from handheld controllers. Other drones are launched from docking stations strategically placed across the city, and officers control them from the back of an SUV using a computer and a PlayStation controller.
The Atlanta Police Department launches some drones from ports strategically placed across the city. They are controlled by a computer and a PlayStation controller. (Pakinomist)
The drone docks are used year-round to help police get an aerial view of emergency situations before officers arrive. The computer shows the drone pilot where all the police body cameras and vehicles are in the area, allowing them to better communicate with officers on the ground.
For the World Cup, the drone dock allows the department to have more eyes in the sky and respond more quickly to emergencies.
“It’s going to cut down on time. We’re going to get there quickly. And then you’re going to get an aerial perspective of what you can’t see on the ground,” Cunningham said.
The Atlanta Police Department is launching some drones from docks to get more eyes in the sky and respond more quickly to emergencies. (Pakinomist)
Cunningham said the drone unit has completed more than 1,400 flights and logged more than 550 flight hours since the beginning of June.
“Some people haven’t even done it in years or haven’t even reached those numbers in the life of their drone unit,” Cunningham said.
“We train for the environment. We live here so we know what to expect,” said Anais Paredes, an APD drone pilot.
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The FBI asks that hobbyist drone pilots know the temporary flight restrictions in their area before taking off.
There is a one-mile restriction around World Cup stadiums on non-match days and a three-mile restriction on match days.
