Drones as first responders? Newport News considers employing…

NEWPORT NEWS — If the police department has its way, drones may arrive at a crime scene before officers.

During a recent City Council work session, Assistant City Manager Alan Archer and Police Chief Steve Drew made a pitch for drones to respond to calls for service. The goal is to increase safety for police and people involved in a crisis.

“The face of policing is changing,” Archer said. “Automatic license plate readers, body-worn cameras in pre-crime technology like ShotSpotter are transforming how police work is reformed in the 21st century. This transformation is leading public safety officials to welcome the advantages of drones as first responders and spurring discussion about the latest technology paradigm in policing.”

Archer described such usage of drones as “revolutionary.” Drones fly at roughly 35 mph and often arrive on the scene of a 911 call within two minutes. A patrol unit’s average response time is about five minutes.

“There are no current localities in the state of Virginia who have adopted a drone as first responder program, and I think we are poised to become the first,” Archer said.

Once the drone arrives, first responders en route and at the police department crime center can watch what its camera captures. It would allow officers to assess how to approach a situation and understand what they may be up against.

For example, Archer said, if police responded to a call about a mental or behavioral health crisis, drone footage could reveal whether a person is armed.

Archer said city police have been looking at using drones as a first responders program utilized by police in Chula Vista, California.

Drew said the police already are using drones for large-scale events such as monitoring parades, searching for missing persons and responding to hostage situations.

Drew said drones could be used to respond to shootings and homicides — “top priority” calls.

Archer said the city would need to work on defining the scope of how the drones would be used and developing policies for their implementation. He also said it would be essential to try to get community support.

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He said the city hopes to do a 30-day trial.

“And if it works, we’d like to move forward with full adoption of the program,” he said.

Drew said the department currently has 10-12 drones. He said they would want to buy another and potentially repurpose some others for the program.

Vice Mayor Curtis Bethany and Councilwoman Pat Woodbury expressed support for the idea, with Bethany commending the police for being proactive in thinking of the concept.

Matt Callahan, a senior supervising attorney with the Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union noted that drones can raise some privacy concerns. In an email to the Daily Press, he said any governmental use of drones should involve:

  • Restrictions on their deployment (such as limiting them to being deployed in response to a specific call).
  • Usage restrictions on the data obtained by the drone (including keeping footage separate from an automated license plate reader databases and facial recognition technology).
  • Limited retention of the drone footage (such as deleting the footage immediately after deployment unless there is an articulable reason to maintain the data for a law enforcement purpose).
  • Public notice about the frequency and nature of the use of the drones.
  • Ongoing auditing and effectiveness tracking of the drone program by an independent authority.
  • A ban on weaponization of the drones.

“No drone program should be deployed without first hearing from the community if they want drones to be used as first responders,” Callahan said. “Community members should ask hard questions about whether these drones are effective in responding to emergencies and what kinds of privacy protections are in place.”

Josh Janney, [email protected].

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