An airborne assist: Drones becoming new first responders in suburban policing

Suburban police departments are increasingly embracing drone technology, looking to the airborne devices as automated first responders able to reach a scene before officers arrive.

Several agencies have fully implemented the technology. Others are looking into their future use.

Drones can now be launched quickly from stations to respond to calls. The ease goes beyond having patrol officers operate drones while keeping them in sight under FAA rules.

These new drones can fly at 45 mph and handle most bad weather, said Jim Thomas, deputy police chief of technical services in Hoffman Estates. They often reach the scene faster than a patrol officer — about 75% of the time.

By providing quick visuals of incidents, drones help determine the right level of response, Thomas noted.

“This is the next big thing in policing,” Thomas said. “It’s not replacing police officers. It’s just another tool for us to use.”

Thomas is researching Hoffman Estates’ potential purchase of a first-responder drone next year and chairing a committee of the 13-member Arlington Heights-based Northwest Central Dispatch that’s considering multijurisdictional use of the technology.

They will gather in June to watch the three top vendors demonstrate their services.

“I think a lot of our departments see it as something that can increase safety,” Northwest Central Dispatch Executive Director John Ferraro said. “Sure, everybody’s talking about it in the region.”

Price could be a challenge for smaller departments. First-reponder drones can cost between $50,000 and $60,000, while patrol drones run about $25,000.

For smaller villages such as Inverness, owning a drone may not be feasible. However, proximity to Hoffman Estates allows them to access one when needed, Thomas explained.

The Hoffman Estates Fire Department receives help from police and Hanover Township Emergency Services drones. Fire Chief Alan Wax believes they may not need their own because these drones already have thermal imaging to find hot spots in fires or locate missing people.

Schaumburg is starting its fiscal year with a free one-year trial of two first-responder drones — one for the north side of town and one for the south, said Police Chief Bill Wolf.

The experience will be valuable, even if they choose a different vendor later. The addition will complement patrol drones and stationary cameras that feed into Schaumburg’s Real-Time Information Center.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to share our experience with the other municipalities interested in this,” Wolf said. “I truly think it’s going to be a big part of the future in law enforcement.”

Gurnee recently used its first-responder drone to track a theft suspect on a bicycle until an officer could catch up. Another early use helped locate an autistic child who wandered away from home.

Wolf noted that drones have even corrected overblown 911 calls. For example, a call in California reported a man with a gun, but the drone showed it was a gun-shaped lighter.

Initial reports of serious vehicle crashes have led to drone footage showing the drivers were able to pull into nearby parking lots with only minor damage, Wolf said.

“What we’re going to see is more efficient use of our resources,” he added.

Oak Brook was the first in the region to use first-responder drones last year.

Naperville is also preparing to implement drones, focusing initially on the busier north side, said police Cmdr. Rick Krakow.