Dublin Police Department utilizes new public safety technology

City of Dublin

In a modern world encompassed by constantly-evolving technology, the City of Dublin and the Dublin Police Department are redefining the practice of public safety. Their most recent initiative, the Drones as First Responders program, has allowed progress in the field to truly takeoff.

As the largest Drones as First Responders (DFR) initiative in central Ohio – with four drones, four docking stations, 21 operators and 24/7-365 operation – Dublin’s program is not just protecting its own citizens, but setting the stage for a broader utilization of innovation in the public safety sector.

Taking flight

City of Dublin

The DFR program, established last year, stemmed from the success of the police department’s Drone Unit, which was introduced in 2020 as part of an initiative from the Dublin City Council to implement more technology in day-to-day police operations.

The five-drone unit completed thousands of missions supporting missing person searches, event security, crime scenes, traffic planning and more – but there were a few challenges.

“The technology was very new and really wasn’t up to par yet with what we knew we wanted to do in the long-term,” says Sergeant Andrew Clark, Drone Unit leader at the Dublin Police Department. “We wanted to wait for the technology to evolve and be really ready to be effective.”

Additionally, under then-Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) law, the drones had to be transported to the scene via a cruiser and unpacked, deployed and operated manually by the responding officer – leading to a delay in between the time the drone was needed and when it actually got in the air.

But, in 2024, new FAA authorizations allowing beyond-visual-line-of-sight flights and streamlined waiver approvals changed the game.

“Now, it’s all flown through LTE cellular connection, we don’t have to have the remote controller in our hands. So, there’s no delay,” says Clark. “All we have to do is hop on the computer, open the dock, launch the drone, and it flies directly to the location we input.”

Eyes in the sky

City of Dublin

The DFR drones are docked at four different locations across the city – City Hall, Dublin Scioto High School, Dublin Grizzell Middle School and Washington Township Fire Department Administration Building. When a 911 call comes in that may benefit from a drone, an operator at one of the stations is notified, and a drone is launched to the appropriate coordinates.

“(The drones) can respond in about 90 seconds to anywhere in the city,” Clark says. “They have about a 3-mile range, they can go anywhere within that.”

Without traffic limitations, the drone is oftentimes the first to arrive at the scene, and when put into orbit mode, can establish and monitor a visual perimeter until officers arrive. Once officers reach the scene, they can take manual control of the drone. After the scene has been cleared, the drone returns home to its dock to recharge, which takes about 20 minutes.

“Priority calls are our focus, mainly anything that is not contained within a building. So, missing persons, fleeing suspects, suspicious persons or vehicles and (camera) hits of active crime,” says Clark.

The drones have also helped locate exact traffic accident coordinates, as well as support mutual aid requests from the fire department – such as assisting with water rescues, or providing overhead thermal monitoring during active fires.

One recent instance in which a drone proved extremely useful was in the case of an individual who had driven off road into a heavily-wooded area while suffering a mental health crisis.

According to Clark, officers could not locate the car on foot due to the area being heavily brushed, but were able to quickly locate the vehicle overhead using a drone.

From there, officers were guided into place around the vehicle to verbally engage with the individual, getting them to safely exit the car and get the help they needed – successfully deescalating an otherwise tense situation.

“I think that’s just a great example of how (the drones) are used not only for efficiency, but officer safety and public safety,” says Clark.

On the rise

City of Dublin

In the short time since the Drone Unit and DFR program have been established, Clark says the investment has already delivered measurable benefits – improving resident and officer safety by increasing situational awareness, accelerating response time and offering more concise information during emergencies and investigations.

“Being able to take this (technology) and make what we do on a daily basis safer and more efficient is the biggest advantage,” says Clark.

Additionally, streamlining daily operations frees up officers to focus on other, high-priority tasks – showing that, while implementing innovative technology may never replace traditional policing, it certainly strengthens it.

Looking forward, Clark believes the program and others that are similar have the potential to expand and even influence a national trend. In fact, Ohio is currently pioneering the country’s first statewide DFR program, with rollouts expected this summer.

“Since we launched the program, we’ve flown over 240 missions in five months. So, I think the need for it and the benefit is absolutely there,” Clark says. “As time goes on, we’ll continue to see those benefits get greater and greater.”