By Nick Fenley
The Fresno Bee
FRESNO, Calif. — The Fresno Police Department is now part of the Drone as First Responder program, and officers can use three drones docked at different parts of the city to assist with calls.
Police Chief Mindy Casto said the department has already seen results deploying standard drones since 2019, though first-responder drones go the extra mile.
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“The pilot provides real-time information over the radio to officers in the field that may be responding. Officers in the field can also tune in to the video themselves through their car computer or their department-issued cellphones,” Casto said Wednesday.
The drones are primarily operated from the department’s downtown headquarters, though they can fly autonomously or be controlled from other areas as well.
With appropriate training, pilots can operate multiple drones at a time.
Casto said the drones can be an asset in helping identify suspects or find missing persons. They can even clear calls, such as a traffic hazard that resolves itself, without an officer visiting the scene.
Equipped with infrared and night vision, the drones can lock onto vehicles of interest and make announcements by relaying recorded messages. Lt. Robert Dewey works with the drones and said the announcement feature is handy for matters such as clearing unhoused people from private property.
The drones are waterproof and can operate in temperatures up to 122 degrees, and in 35-mph winds. Dewey said the drones have a fly-and-charge time of 27 minutes, though officers can do a “hot swap” and change batteries in the field.
There are currently three first-responder drones serving Fresno. Two are placed atop the department’s northeast and northwest stations, as those areas experience the most retail theft, Casto said. A third drone is at headquarters and will primarily serve the downtown area.
The program launched March 23 , and the new drones have helped on 275 service calls so far. On 148 of those calls, drone pilots were able to identify a person or vehicle of interest before ground units arrived. About 20% of the calls were cleared without ground officers needing to respond.
“It really is just kind of the next wave of law enforcement,” Dewey said.
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