A growing number of police departments in the United States now have drones and are exploring different ways to use them. A recent study found that drone ownership by local police and public safety agencies across the U.S. has greatly increased since 2014. The Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College in New York published the study results in April. The study found that at least 347 state and local police, fire and emergency agencies now have drones. But there is debate in some cities about whether local police should be using drones, also known as unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS. The Los Angeles Police Department, or LAPD, is considering a pilot program to experiment with drones in different situations. Some groups have protested its use of drones.