Agency name: Prosper (Texas) Police Department
Agency size: 67 sworn officers, 18 civilian staff employees
Population served: 46,087 residents, with projected growth to 75,000–85,000
Date DFR program launched: May 2025
Typical calls DFR responds to: Motorist assists, traffic hazards, in-progress vehicle crimes, burglary of motor vehicles, high-risk traffic stops, search-and-rescue operations, structure fires and other calls where early aerial perspective informs response
Growth isn’t new for Prosper, Texas — but keeping pace with it has changed how the police department thinks about response.
As the town has expanded, the Prosper Police Department has looked for ways to strengthen early decision-making on calls for service. That focus led the department to invest in a Drone as First Responder (DFR) program designed to support officers across a wide range of incidents.
“DFR is a force multiplier,” said Sgt. Keith Mann, who oversees patrol and drone operations.
For Prosper, the value of DFR isn’t just speed. It’s perspective. Getting eyes on a scene early allows supervisors and officers to confirm what’s actually happening, determine how many resources are needed and adjust response before units arrive.
Rather than building a standalone drone unit, Prosper tied DFR directly into its existing workflow, connecting drone response with CAD and license plate recognition (LPR) technology already in use across the town. Mann describes the approach as “LPR-DFR-AI fusion,” where information from multiple systems comes together to provide clearer context on active calls.
That integration also puts Prosper in a unique position. The department is the first in Texas to deploy a fully autonomous DFR program tied directly into its CAD system, built to support long-term growth, transparency and day-to-day operations.
The challenge
The challenge wasn’t response speed or coverage — it was the reality that some questions can’t be answered until someone gets eyes on a scene.
Like most agencies, Prosper officers respond based on the information available at dispatch. But Mann described how, in practice, many calls don’t fully reveal themselves until units arrive. A reported vehicle may already be gone. A suspected fire may not be active. A roadway issue may be more urgent — or less — than initially described.
“One of the biggest benefits we’ve found is being able to tell officers what they’re driving up on,” Mann said.
Before DFR, that confirmation step almost always happened on arrival. Officers would assess conditions, relay updates and supervisors would adjust response from there. The process worked — but it took time, and by then, multiple resources might already be committed.
Traffic conditions could extend that window even further.
“In peak hours, we can have stacks backed up at traffic signals,” Mann said. “Even with lights and sirens, it can be hard for a patrol asset to get there.”
The challenge, then, wasn’t about fixing a broken process. It was about whether some of that confirmation could happen earlier — before units arrived — so response decisions could be refined sooner and resources used more efficiently.
That question is what ultimately shaped Prosper’s approach to DFR.
The solution
The goal was to move confirmation earlier in the response process by integrating drones directly into existing workflows.
At the center of the program is the department’s Flock Safety Aerodome DFR system, which is tied into CAD. When a call is dispatched, a drone operator in the flight operations room can deploy the drone, allowing it to autonomously launch and fly directly to the call location.
“The minute the call comes out, it hits our system,” Mann said. “They click deploy drone and the drone will autonomously lift itself off the roof.”
That early aerial view allows supervisors to confirm what’s actually happening before units arrive — and adjust response accordingly. Mann described a sequence where a single drone flight helped clear a motorist assist after confirming the vehicle was gone, cancel multiple patrol units responding to a vehicle fire that was not active and identify a roadway buckle that required immediate closure.
“In about 30 seconds to a minute, we cleared three calls,” Mann said.
In addition to DFR, the department also operates a patrol-based drone program that supports officers once they are on scene. Those drones are used during higher-risk incidents, including clearing vehicles during felony traffic stops to reduce risk before officers approach.
Funding and regional collaboration
Prosper’s DFR program was supported in part by grant funding from the Texas Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority (MVCPA), which initially focused on license plate recognition and auto-theft reduction.
That funding helped Prosper establish an auto theft task force with neighboring agencies. As those partnerships grew, so did operational coordination — from shared intelligence to joint responses.
Mann said the collaboration has also influenced how agencies train and support one another. Prosper and Frisco PD now train together regularly, sharing experience across both patrol-based drone operations and DFR, and are working toward mutual aid coordination for drone response.
In the video below, Prosper PD walks through a DFR scenario simulation, showing how drones and Flock Safety technology work together during a stolen vehicle incident to give officers critical real-time awareness before they arrive on scene.
The results
Prosper’s DFR program has improved situational awareness and reduced unnecessary responses by giving supervisors earlier visibility into what’s actually happening on a call. Examples include:
- Early call confirmation: DFR allows supervisors to quickly verify whether a reported issue still exists or is active, helping determine how many resources are actually needed before units arrive.
- Traffic and roadway safety: DFR has been used to identify roadway hazards from the air, allowing officers to take immediate action — such as shutting down a street — before additional vehicles are damaged.
- In-progress vehicle crimes: When paired with LPR alerts, DFR has supported faster response to in-progress vehicle crimes by locating suspect vehicles and providing real-time updates to responding officers.
It has also had an impact on officer safety. In addition to DFR, Prosper’s patrol-based drones are used during higher-risk incidents, including flying into vehicles during felony traffic stops to confirm they are clear before officers approach.
Keys to success
Prosper PD’s early success with DFR comes down to a few deliberate choices:
- Integrated workflows: DFR was built into existing systems, including CAD and LPR, allowing drone response to inform decisions as calls are dispatched — not after officers arrive.
- Layered drone strategy: The department uses DFR for early confirmation and patrol-based drones for on-scene operations, ensuring the right tool is used at the right stage of a call.
- Clear pilot authority: All drone operators are FAA Part 107 certified, and department policy gives pilots final authority over flight decisions, particularly when weather or airspace conditions raise safety concerns.
- Transparency-first approach: Prosper launched the program with public-facing transparency measures, including a dedicated technology webpage and flight tracking, to help residents understand how and when drones are used.
- Grant-supported collaboration: MVCPA funding supported Prosper’s auto-theft and LPR efforts, which helped the department build a multi-agency task force and regional drone partnerships focused on shared training and operational support.
Looking ahead
The department has identified a second DFR site and is working through the engineering and planning process to expand coverage, with the goal of placing one DFR asset on each side of town.
Beyond adding another DFR location, Mann said the department is also watching how drone technology continues to evolve — particularly platforms that could stay airborne longer and provide extended situational awareness. “I do foresee a fixed-wing asset that will stay in the air for extended periods of time,” Mann said.
Prosper also plans to continue building out its regional partnerships, including joint training and mutual aid coordination with neighboring agencies.
That collaboration, Mann said, has been just as important as the technology itself.
