Fort Worth Police Department adds Drone as First Responder program

The Fort Worth Police Department added Flock’s Drone as First Responder program.

According to press releases from both the city and Flock, Flock software tracked and logged drone flights from May and June, the first two months of the program.

The takeaway

The average drone response time was 1 minute, 12 seconds. Drones were first on the scene 47% of the time and 11 of the 162 calls were cleared without using patrol resources, according to a northwest police division newsletter.

“Better information leads to better decisions, and better decisions lead to safer outcomes for everyone involved,” Fort Worth Police Chief Eddie García said. “This technology has the potential to reduce unnecessary risk, improve response capabilities and enhance public safety for the entire Fort Worth community.”

According to Flock, when a 911 call comes in, a Fort Worth Police Department drone can launch and reach nearby scenes, streaming a live aerial view to officers in the field, dispatch and the department's real-time crime center.

That early picture helps responders assess conditions, identify potential hazards and coordinate a response before the first unit arrives, a city release states.

“[The drone] allows officers to know what they’re walking into before they get there,” Garcia said.

The drones are not used to proactively seek wrongdoing, but rather only for emergency calls for service.

The details

The Drone as First Responder program works alongside the department's Flock license plate reader network and a real-time crime center that the department is utilizing with other agencies in the region, according to Flock’s news release.

Each drone flight is automatically logged with a recording of where the drone flew, when will be available and why it was needed. The drones are only launched in response to a specific incident, such as a 911 call, license plate reader alert or gunshot detection.

"Drone as First Responder isn't about generalized surveillance,” said Paris Lewbel, Flock Safety’s public relations manager. “It's about giving officers the context they need to protect a community, with the accountability and transparency that earns public trust."