DFR stands for Drone as First Responder. In our program, the goal is to have the drone be the actual first responder on a scene prior to any other officers or emergency personnel. DFR, as we know it, was first created in October 2018 in Chula Vista, California, a community just outside San Diego. CVPD began deploying drones from the rooftop of the police station to 911 calls and other reports of emergencies. They partnered with several companies and the FAA to help integrate drones into the National Airspace with the goal of making their community safer. It became a model for numerous programs, including our own.

MCPD’s DFR Program prepositions an unmanned aircraft system (drone) at strategic locations in higher-than-normal call volume locations. We then have staff listening to Live911, a program that allows officers to hear 911 calls in real time. When a 911 call comes in that meets our program specifications in our service area, the drone is launched with the goal of getting overhead prior to, or in conjunction with, officers on the ground. DFR assists in helping evaluate the scene and circumstances before officers arrive and while an event is ongoing. This helps provide necessary tactical information and situational awareness to help officers safely respond to incidents, de-escalate situations, and increase efficiency.

In 2022, SOD Deputy Director Galladora suggested bringing DFR to the Montgomery County Police Department. In 2023, Captain Cokinos led a workgroup out to California to visit Chula Vista PD, Beverly Hills PD, and Santa Monica PD who have all successfully implemented a DFR program. After realizing the potential benefits to the department and the community, MCPD decided to move forward with plans to bring DFR to Montgomery County. The next step was to conduct an all-encompassing educational campaign over the summer of 2023. We engaged the County Council, our community in several Town Hall style events, and had displays at numerous community engagement events like the Montgomery County Ag Fair and National Night Out. Many people who participated in the process applauded the UAS Leadership Team in how they conducted themselves throughout the process. Our Council Vice President Andrew Freidson stated, “This has been an exceptional level of community input and council and police department and executive branch coordination and collaboration. I hope that it’s a model for us moving forward. It’s very much appreciated.” This process showed the citizens that government can be effective if everyone works together towards a similar goal. Our official “launch date” for the DFR program was November 20, 2023.

We currently are flying a DJI Matrice 350 RTK. This is a versatile aircraft that offers interchangeable payloads, has a maximum flight time of 55 minutes, and has six-directional awareness, positioning, and obstacle-sensing capabilities for operating safely in our airspace. The maximum airspeed is approximately 35 mph. Although it can fly higher, we operate according to FAA regulations at or below 400 feet above ground level.

Real Time Kinematics, or RTK for short, is a special technique for satellite positioning that can produce accurate results to the centimeter, making it an invaluable tool for surveyors around the world. The method involves measuring satellite data against a ground station for precise, real-time information.

We are currently using a Zemuse H20N on our aircraft. It has a 4MP camera with 20x Hybrid Zoom and a 128x Max zoom. It also has dual thermal cameras; one offers a 2x zoom and the other offers 8x zoom. Another great benefit is the ability to view both the optical and thermal cameras at the same time. Operators can enhance visibility in challenging conditions by simultaneously zooming on a split-screen with both the thermal and visual sensors. This camera is IP44-rated and can operate in temperatures from -20 to 50 degrees Celsius. This camera was selected for all the above capabilities, which allows for enhanced nighttime performance.

We also have in our inventory a Zemuse H20T camera, although currently we are not using it on any of our aircraft. The H20T is like the H20N but the camera is 20MP, with a 23x optical zoom and a 200x Max zoom. This makes the H20T better for daytime operations.

Any video and photo evidence taken during a DFR mission is stored in the same system and manner as police body worn camera system (BWCS) and police in-car mobile video system (MVS) evidence. DFR video is treated as evidence and the retention periods are the same as the current policy for BWCS and MVS video evidence. Access rules are the same as existing BWCS and MVS video evidence policy and is for official use only.

UAS stands for Unmanned or Uncrewed Aircraft Systems, or more commonly referred to as drones. Our program uses small, unmanned aircraft that weigh under 55lbs.

During our initial community engagement process, some of the same concerns were repeated by different members of our community. The community was excited for the new technology but had privacy concerns. Our UAS Leadership Team heard these concerns and worked with our Policy and Planning Division to codify policies in our general directives to ensure the public we would only use this program for legitimate law enforcement purposes and to respond to calls for service or emergency situations. We also made a commitment to transparency. We publish all our policies on the internet so citizens could read for themselves what we can and cannot do. The Department designated an executive officer to be the program manager. This Lieutenant has the responsibility to periodically audit the program to identify any training issues. If any policy violations are discovered, they will be addressed according to existing procedures. Finally, we track and publish our flight data on a front-facing public dashboard as well as in the Department’s annual report.

Operationally, when we fly, we keep the camera pointed towards the horizon until the aircraft gets on scene of the call for service. Once we get on scene, the camera on the aircraft pivots down to the ground and then we start recording. At the conclusion of the call for service, the recording stops and the aircraft returns to the launch site and all video is uploaded to our secure evidence servers.

Our DFR program only responds to 911 calls and those incidents where officers on the ground request support. MCPD DFR will not fly for “occurred earlier calls” where the crime occurred earlier, and there is no suspect on scene/there are no safety concerns. We do NOT proactively patrol, and we do NOT use drones for random surveillance. This policy helps protect the privacy of all Montgomery County citizens and visitors.

MCPD takes a data driven approach to our program. Our crime analysts and members of our Information Management and Technology Division (IMTD) studied crime statistics, calls for service volume, and areas that police staffing has been an issue in all our six patrol districts. We then took this information and determined the best deployment strategy to address crime and safety issues in our neighborhoods. The DFR program is deployed in an area that can serve the most good for the community. These locations are higher populated urban areas with a higher percentage of crime to include violent crime.

We also chose our launch sites to enhance and meet the goals of the DFR program. These goals are to 1) improve police response times; 2) allow MCPD to be more efficient with police resources; 3) provide real time information to ground officers to allow for better decision making; 4) assist with de-escalation of incidents to enhance the safety of officers and our citizens; and 5) assist with locating and apprehending criminals.

UAS are cheaper and more environmentally friendly. Also, UAS are quieter than helicopters. Helicopters and other manned aircraft are very expensive to operate. Due to our location in the National Capital Region, there are several state, local, and federal law enforcement partners that work closely with MCPD. If we need a helicopter for a call for service or critical incident, we are lucky enough to be able to request assistance from the Prince George’s County Police Department (Guardian); US Park Police Department (Eagle 1); and the Maryland State Police Department (Trooper 1-10).

Our DFR aircraft flies at or below 400 feet above the ground. At that height, it is quiet, and most people do not hear the aircraft.

The MCPD UAS program is fully transparent, and information (including deployments) is published annually in the MCPD annual report. Each UAS deployment is approved, tracked, and reviewed to ensure all operations are following policy. Furthermore, the UAS policy is open to the public and we believe adequately covers concerns the public may have about the program. All policies are subject to collective bargaining and MCPD cannot circumvent the collective bargaining process with the UAS policy. The below area of policy addresses potential privacy concerns by the public.

The MCPD UAS program respects and complies with the United States Constitution, including the 1st and 4th Amendments, during all operations.

Policy: It is the policy of the Montgomery County Department of Police (MCPD) to utilize an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) for the focused and limited purpose of public safety and law enforcement activities. The Unmanned Aircraft System deployment and data collected will be used in a lawful manner consistent with all provisions of applicable law. The MCPD will obtain all applicable authorizations, permits, or certificates required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) prior to deploying or operating the Unmanned Aircraft System. These authorizations, permits, and certificates will be maintained and current.

MCPD policy prohibits UAS operators from intentionally recording or transmitting images of any location where a person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as inside private buildings, except where authorized by a warrant issued by a judge or in emergency situations. Furthermore, the collection, use, dissemination, or retention of UAS data will not be used to identify persons participating in lawful first amendment activity nor will it be based solely on a person’s individual characteristics (e.g., race ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, etc.)

Citizens can go to our Resources page and review all our current policies.

FC 0460 – Unmanned Aircraft Systems is our official UAS policy. It can be reviewed here: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/pol/Resources/Files/PDF/Directives/0400/FC%200460%20Unmanned%20Aircraft%20Systems.09192023.pdf

The public does not need a license to fly a drone if you intend to fly it recreationally. However, if you fly your drone commercially or under the FAA’s Small UAS Rule (Part 107), you must first obtain a Remote Pilot Certificate (RPC), also known as a drone license or a Part 107 certificate. MCPD is committed to safety and requires all department personnel to hold a Part 107 certificate prior to operating any drone in the course of their official duty.

As of November 2024, there are 35 officers in MCPD’s UAS program. Most of the officers are de-centralized pilots. This means flying drones is a collateral duty and they are primarily assigned to other functions in the department such as working in the Patrol Services Bureau, Investigative Services Bureau, or Management Services Bureau. To be a pilot, officers must possess a Part 107 certification. Officers then go through a 40-hour Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commission approved class learning MCPD policy, FAA regulations, and get practice flight time. We also use the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Bucket course to evaluate the pilot’s proficiency and how well they can manipulate the drone. Once they pass this course, we continue training officers to ensure we meet the highest levels of proficiency. All pilots go through “Field Training” and must attend monthly training. Once they demonstrate proficiency in the Patrol Drone program, we then train officers to be Air Support Officers and then put them through a 20-hour Teleoperator course to become DFR pilots. All this training is documented and maintained through the Air Support Unit located in the Special Operations Division.

Yes, please reach out to us at [email protected] Or contact the Special Operations Division at 240-773-6500. We check the email periodically and will get back to you.

MCPD has a commitment to transparency. MCPD publishes all DFR flights onto our transparency website after every flight. Please go to https://remote.dronesense.com/dashboard/MCPDDFR and you can examine every DFR flight. This page shows flight paths, date/time of flight, the call for service event number of each flight, and a brief description on why we flew.

Currently we have a contractor on the rooftops helping us meet FAA regulations and fulfill our mission. If you email us at [email protected] we can refer you to the contractor.

Additionally, every sworn officer that is a part of the UAS program has been or will be trained in all aspects of the DFR program. Being a decentralized UAS pilot is just one career path an officer can take when you join the Montgomery County Police Department. If you are interested in learning more about joining MCPD, please go to JoinMCP.com