Pupils help name Lincolnshire's police eyes in the sky

The police thought calling their drones number one, two, three and four felt a little impersonal for the hard working they do and called on the help of possible next generation police officers and drone pilots to name them.

Youth Engagement Coordinator Tom Wilkinson organised a competition for local primary schools, which was so popular other schools and even some teachers got involved, too.

In the end they got 246 names for their drones – and Assistant Chief Constable Chris Davison said choosing the winners was “his best job of the day”.

All of the winning schools will be receiving a Mini Police hat and coat to say ‘thank you’ for taking part.

Sherlock Drone for the Skegness drone was submitted by Ingoldmells Academy; Cristiano Dronaldo for the Lincoln drone was submitted by Market Rasen Church of England Primary School; Apollo for the Boston drone was named by Fleetwood Lane school, Spalding; and Isaac for the Grantham drone was choseb by Newton Primary, Grantham.

Assistant Chief Constable Chris Davison chose the names and said: “It was a very difficult choice; I could have chosen so many of the names suggested.

“I had to choose the final four and I think they represent all that is good in Lincolnshire.

"The Apollo program succeeded in the first moon landing. While our drones don’t fly that far, this ground-breaking technology allows us to fly drones across all areas of our county.

"Boston and South Holland include vast areas of countryside and coastal areas.”

“Isaac Newton, born in Woolsthorpe, Grantham, invented gravity and motion and changed the way we understand the universe.

“The famous Sherlock Holmes character is recognised for his observation, deduction, and logical reasoning. The same skills our drone pilots use every time we launch one of our drones. This is such an inspired name for our Skegness drone.

“And finally, while it’s unlikely Cristiano Ronaldo will ever play for Lincoln City, he is recognised by many as the greatest footballer of our time. Many old and new footballers will follow this great man. Naming our Lincoln drone Cristiano Dronaldo is really creative. Our Lincoln drone can be seen at many of the home games monitoring the crowds as they make their way to and from the stadium.

“I’d like to give special mention to the young boy from Fishtoft Academy, Boston, who thought of the name ‘Police are the best.’ There was a note that he thought this because

‘Police arrest criminals and save lives’. I couldn’t have put it better myself.”

Kevin Taylor, Chief Drone Pilot, Lincolnshire Police, said: “Clearly everyone has put a lot of thought in to choosing these names. This competition is fun but importantly a great opportunity for us to engage with school children about the technology, responsibility and creativity drones offer.”

“We are looking forward to visiting the winning schools, talking to them about the drones and the work we do using them.”

For more information on how we use our drones, please follow @LincsCOPter on Twitter. #DronesForGood