EVERETT, Wash. — This summer, the Everett Police Department will begin testing out drones as first responders.
The goal is to cut down on response times and assess a scene before officers arrive, to give them a better picture of what is happening.
According to the department, on average, a drone can arrive at a scene in about 90 seconds.
The two-year program with Flock Safety will begin in June. One drone will respond to calls in the north portion of the city, and the other will respond to calls in the southern portion of Everett.
According to Flock Safety, approximately 20% of calls can be resolved without needing an officer on the ground.
The Everett Police Department says drones will only be deployed for 911 calls or when an officer calls for support. The drones will not be used for proactive surveillance, as immigration informants, and will not have facial recognition abilities.
Everett police estimates it will cost them about $307,000 annually to operate each drone after the two-year trial period.
Everett isn’t the only department in western Washington to utilize drones as first responders. The Redmond Police Department has been doing this since last year. It took the department about a year to earn the approval to pilot drones without a visual observer, collaborating closely with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
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