Drones are just one tool the Naperville Police Department uses to assist with crimes in progress, helping officers get a faster view of the scene. But to take this crime-fighting tech up a notch, a new Drones as First Responders program will make this response automatic.
Department’s drone program assists crime response
“We’ve used drones for a ton of different missions that the police department’s been on,” said Chief of Police Jason Arres. “Drone as a First Responder is the next tech and evolution of our drone program and drone programs throughout the country, and what it’s about is faster response to calls in progress.”
Kevin Merrihew is one of the department’s twenty drone operators. He leads teams that use drones in situations where it can be helpful to have extra eyes in the sky, like in a recent business break-in.
“Once they cleared the building, we couldn’t find anybody in there. We then put our drones up in the air, and we were able to locate a person in the high brush around that,” said Kevin Merrihew, assistant team lead. “It was actually pretty impressive because our officers were walking through the weeds, and they might have been five feet from the subject, and they were not able to see that person where they were.”
Manually-operated drones already provide valuable visual intel at the scene of the crime. But Drones as First Responders takes the next step to start assessing the situation before officers arrive, flying out to the scene when the call comes in.
“With the drone as a first responder, it connects directly to our CAD system, so in that 10-second or so window, a pilot who is observing via computer the drone platform can hit launch, and that drone, 10 seconds into that call, autonomously flies to the location of whatever that call for service is at that time. It’s just a more efficient way to get to the call and then provide vital intel to whatever that situation it is that we’re investigating,” Arres said. “So faster, safer police response, I don’t know many that are going to be disappointed with that.”
Protecting the privacy of Naperville residents
The department follows specific state laws for how it can use drones.
“It provides guidance to us that says, Hey, you can use it in this situation or this situation, right? After each flight, we submit a notification to the State’s Attorney’s Office, either in DuPage County or in Will County, and then we also have a record of the flight. Should something ever happen, we can go back to that, and we have all of your information logged, that kind of complies with the Illinois state law,” Merrihew said.
The automatic drone cameras face the horizon until the drone arrives at the scene, protecting the privacy of Naperville residents along the route to the crime. Once the case is closed, the footage is destroyed.
Drones as First Responders to enhance public safety
The Naperville City Council approved a budget proposal in October to bring the program to the department.
Arres is confident that the addition of Drones as First Responders will have a positive impact on the department’s work.
“Tech is evolving rapidly in many industries, and especially law enforcement, and this is one of the biggest advances I’ve seen as I enter my 25th year, if not the biggest advancement in technology,” Arres said. “And I truly believe that it’s just going to make police departments across the country that much better, safer, and more efficient in the way they serve the public.”
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