A drone flown by an RCMP officer in Windsor, Ont., hovers over the Detroit River, on March 7.

The Mounties are preparing to expand the use of drones, which are already being used in some provinces to scan buildings for threats in advance of SWAT teams and to find missing persons, the RCMP chief told a parliamentary committee.

Drones have already been used in investigations in several provinces and regions, including in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Ottawa, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme told the Senate national security committee on Monday evening.

Commissioner Duheme told the committee, which also discussed Arctic security and foreign interference, that the Mounties are planning to hire more civilian technicians to operate drones that can scout an area before a police car arrives.

The RCMP

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