Several Twin Cities police departments considering the use of drones as first responders
Several municipalities in the Twin Cities metro area are considering a program that would make drones first responders, essentially sending a camera in the sky to 911 calls ahead of police and firefighters.
The Edina Police Department just concluded a two-week trial period and the Bloomington Police Department started testing drones soon after.
"[The drones] can go out there and be there before we have to put actual humans on the ground," said Damon Bitney, Bloomington's assistant police chief.
Bitney sees this technology as a way to keep first responders safer, while improving response times and tracking down suspects.
"If we don't have to send cars, that means that's less cars that are going lights and sirens to calls," Bitney said. "It also means that if someone's trying to hide or do something, or there's a significant incident, that we can have, hopefully, have eyes on to see where those people might be."
While the drones are in the air responding, police officers are monitoring the camera feed and location from the station. It allows them to send out real-time information and, Bitney hopes, to deploy resources more effectively.
Sgt. Jason Behr from the Edina Police Department said speed is also a metric his officers are taking a closer look at.
"When you call 911, you wanted them there five minutes ago, not 10 minutes from now," Behr said. "If you can get somebody there faster and provide that overwatch and that insight to the officers, it just helps with public safety."
Behr said over two weeks, the drones responded to a few dozen calls, including assault, theft and a medical emergency.
The drone program is already in place at the Minnetonka Police Department. Since August, police there have logged over 600 flights. A spokesperson for the city said drones were first to the scene 68% of the time and police cleared 18% of calls without sending officers. The program costs about $260,000 a year to operate.
The City of Minneapolis is also considering piloting a similar drone program. During a council committee meeting last week, several council members raised issues with privacy and unnecessary surveillance.
Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw is backing the pilot program and, during the meeting, praised the way drones could cut down on response times in her district.
"We looked at the Drones as First Responders (DFR) program previously and set it aside due to cost and staffing considerations but given the success we're seeing in other communities and the rapid advancement of the technology, we believe it's time to take another serious look," said Brian Feintech, a spokesperson for the city's Office of Community Safety.
Minnesota law does lay out when law enforcement is authorized to use drones, specifically when there's danger to the public, disaster response, and searches for missing people, among others. Drone flights must be documented.