Huntington Beach becomes latest city to add drones to its police force

Huntington Beach said Tuesday it is adding three drones to its police force, joining an increasing number of U.S. cities using remote “eyes in the sky” to respond to crimes and other emergencies.

“ These drones can save a lot of time, save a lot of lives, and really become a force multiplier in service to the people,” said Mayor Pat Burns, a retired Long Beach Police officer who spoke at a news conference and demo to roll out the new law enforcement hardware.

What can the drones do?

City leaders say the drones can respond to an emergency faster and more efficiently than officers and vehicles on the ground. Officers can send out a drone in response to an emergency call, then monitor the drone’s footage from a dispatch center, assess the situation, and brief their colleagues on the ground.

Detective Taylor Davoren, a drone pilot, said the machines will help catch and convict criminals.

“In most cases, suspects or vehicle descriptions are critical, but if it takes an officer 5 minutes to arrive, those details might be gone,” Davoren said. “With drones, we can often be there in under 2 minutes. And we can start recording immediately.”

The use of drones as first responders, known as DFR programs, has become increasingly popular across the U.S. The city of Chula Vista in San Diego County launched the first DFR program in 2018. Dozens of cities have followed suit, including Hawthorne, Santa Monica, Irvine, Redondo Beach, Beverly Hills and Burbank, according to the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Los Angeles also recently launched a pilot program to use drones to respond to routine emergency calls.

What about privacy concerns?

Privacy and accountability concerns have followed the expansion of law enforcement drone programs. A recent investigation by Wired magazine into Chula Vista’s drone program found that residents in poor communities are much more likely to be captured in drone footage than in wealthier parts of the city.

Huntington Beach Police Lieutenant Chris Nesmith said Tuesday that the drones will only record footage when responding to an emergency call.

“ The citizens don't need to worry about officers spying in their backyards or surveilling them,” he said. “This isn't a Big Brother program.”

Who will have access to the video?

He told LAist that video evidence would be uploaded to the city’s contracted database, evidence.com. Nesmith said the evidence could be shared with other law enforcement agencies to prosecute crimes. The Huntington Beach City Council declared the city a “non-sanctuary city” earlier this year. But Nesmith said the police department follows state law that restricts sharing information about minor crimes with federal immigration authorities.