ATLANTA — A new drone program at Georgia’s Fulton County Jail is aimed at stopping a growing problem from above: unauthorized flights delivering contraband directly into the facility.
Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat announced the launch of what officials are calling a first-of-its-kind Drone as First Responder system at the Rice Street jail, designed to intercept illegal drone activity and give staff a faster way to respond to emergencies, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
| RESOURCE: How to fund Drone as First Responder programs (eBook)
The program is part of a public-private partnership between the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Foundation and Flock Safety.
Labat said the issue has become one of the jail’s biggest security challenges.
“This has certainly been the bane of some of our existence,” Labat said. “We have had everything from chicken sandwiches to cigarettes to tools to take the jail apart.”
The sheriff said about 75% of contraband entering the facility comes from unauthorized drones operated by people outside the jail. In the first half of 2025 alone, nearly 300 unauthorized drones were spotted in the area, according to the sheriff’s office.
The new system places drones on the roof of the jail, where they can be deployed within seconds to assess incidents and relay live video and audio, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. Officials said that response time could make a difference during emergencies such as fires, medical calls or security breaches.
“This use of technology is arguably what every jail should be looking at,” Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley said during the announcement. “When something happens, what traditionally might have taken minutes for a deputy to respond, a drone can now be there in seconds.”
The sheriff’s office said five to six employees have already been trained and are FAA-certified to operate the drones.
In a statement shared by the agency, Labat said the investment is about more than adding new technology.
“This partnership reflects a forward-looking opportunity to strengthen jail security and modernize how we protect both our facility and the surrounding community,” he said.
The sheriff’s office also said the pilot program will not cost taxpayers anything to operate because it is being funded through the Sheriff’s Foundation.
Officials have not yet said how many drones are included in the pilot program or released data on how many contraband drops have been stopped so far.
