Arlington police expanding use of drones to respond to emergency calls
Arlington police announced Wednesday that the department will expand its Drone as a First Responder program, which uses unmanned aircraft to help officers on the ground respond to calls.
When a 911 call comes in, Arlington Police Department employees who are licensed drone pilots can fly the unmanned aircraft to the scene and use it to “scope out the area from above,” police officials said in a news release.
The approach can help officers find suspects more quickly and better plan for in-person response, according to the statement.
The program originated in response to an influx of calls about fireworks during the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve weekends, police said.
Docks have been installed at two “strategic locations” in the city, allowing department employees to launch a drone instantly, officials said. The drones can fly up to 1.5 miles from the docking stations at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.
The Arlington Police Department is also among the first agencies in the country to receive a “beyond visual line of sight” distinction from the Federal Aviation Administration, allowing drones to be flown remotely and to greater distances than usually allowed, officials said.
The program is subject to guidelines intended to protect public privacy, according to the statement.
Drones will not be used for “general surveillance or indiscriminate monitoring,” every flight must be logged and is subject to auditing, and drones will not record video on the way to a scene or without a legitimate law enforcement reason, officials said.
