Greenville has become the latest Texas city to expand its emergency services with a drone-as-first-responder (DFR) program, increasing the police department’s capability and speed in emergency response scenarios.
The city recently approved a landmark six-year agreement for use of the drone technologies, expanding the city’s emergency response system and adding another tool in the law enforcement’s belt. The program will enable drone pilots to deploy drones to high-priority calls before officers arrive on-scene or alongside ground units. Potential crimes that may be targeted include:
- Burglaries.
- Major traffic accidents.
- Violent crimes.
- Searches for missing or endangered individuals.
- Time sensitive incidents.
Faster response times and aerial visual mobility mean giving police units better intelligence on each situation, providing multiple perspectives and real-time information critical for achieving a safe, efficient resolution. These will help provide rapid situational awareness, improve overall safety and support informed deployment decisions in the early stages of an emergency. Drones will also be able to deliver lifesaving payloads in moments, including Narcan, AEDs and EpiPens among other equipment.
The program will operate under Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations and departmental policies, ensuring all activity is safe and lawful. Compliance with these standards will require the department to implement defined launch criteria, trained operators, mission logging and privacy safeguards.
Greenville follows in the footsteps of El Paso after they launched the nation’s first citywide drone network last year, according to city officials. However, while Greenville’s deployment will be dedicated to law enforcement exclusively, El Paso’s network extends to other emergency response services, including the fire department.
Both Greenville and El Paso’s drone networks will largely serve the same purpose: provide real-time information and aerial support during priority incidents. El Paso has already reported success with the program, using integrated thermal imaging and three-dimensional modeling technologies to assist in locating missing persons and documenting crash scenes. To date, the use of DFR has enabled first responders to capture details quickly, reduce prolonged road closures and enhance manpower during large, busy events.
Photo by Nino Souz from Pexels
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