Vernon Hills police hope to add next-gen drone to arsenal

Vernon Hills police are poised to advance their use of drone technology with devices that can be launched automatically and remotely, rather than being deployed by an officer.

Village board members informally agreed the next-gen drone would be an asset to first responders and gave Police Chief Patrick Kreis the OK to gather specifics on vendors, cost and other details for future consideration.

“We think it a significant enhancement of public safety,” Kreis said during a presentation Tuesday to the village board.

“We would still be a rather early adopter if we did something next year but I'm confident in the next two or three years this is just going to be as standard as light bars on squad cars,” he added.

Vernon Hills police, which deployed their first drone in 2017, would join the Gurnee and Oak Brook police departments among the first suburban users of the advanced technology.

In overview of drone use for the board, police Cmdr. Andrew Gillespie said state law in place from 2014 to 2023 was “very, very limited” on what police could use drones for.

That changed with the Drones as First Responders Act, which recognizes changes in technology and includes reporting requirements and other regulations for drone use by law enforcement.

Vernon Hills police currently deploy drones from a patrol vehicle equipped with a screen in the back, but the response and set up can take time, Gillespie said.

Early adopters of the remote technology say drones arrive before responding officers 80% of the time, Gillespie said. And 41% of the time it's determined a report is not a police matter and officers don't need to be dispatched, he added.

“I can't help but think that would be an incredible help to both firemedics and police officers arriving to have a better understanding of exactly what they're walking into before they get there,” Mayor Thom Koch said.

The remote drone can respond to calls automatically and, based on how a dispatcher categorizes the call, be on its way before an audio dispatch is sent to officers, Kreis said.

“(It is) absolutely where the industry is going (and) where public safety is going,” he added.

“I just didn’t want to spend too much energy going down this path without knowing that this is something that our community comfortable with seeing the police department deploy,” Kreis told the village board.