Dallas Police used drones thousands of times in fiscal year 2024, according to details revealed during a recent meeting of the City’s Public Safety Committee.
Committee Chair District 12 Council Member Cara Mendelsohn was surprised at the widespread use of the relatively new tool and praised the police force’s use of advanced technology.
“I think most people don’t realize how many drones we have and how often [DPD] is using them,” Mendelsohn said during the February 10 meeting, per KERA News.
During fiscal year 2024, the Dallas Police Department deployed drones around 8,000 times. That equates to around 22 daily deployments on average, or almost once every hour.
The Dallas PD launched the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) program in January 2022 with 18 aerial drones, all manufactured by Chinese company DJI. Today, the department’s fleet has grown to 139 drones.
The state-of-the-art technology can assist police with locating missing persons, helping with disaster response, and investigating dangerous and potentially armed suspects. This assistance is particularly valuable as the department struggles with staffing shortages.
Unlike many military drones, however, the Dallas PD does not weaponize the tool. While the department has denied any plans to weaponize its drone fleet in the past, the Dallas PD says they can be weaponized “if authorized by the Chief of Police.”
Dallas PD drones are monitored and tracked, with details subsequently submitted to state officials. State officials also require flight and expense details every other week. In some instances, like when pursuing a felon, the drones can record video and capture images.
“That report would include such things as date, time, operational purpose, the timeframe and the location of the flight,” Catrina Shead, an assistant chief with the police department, said during the February 10 meeting, per KERA News.
The department employs 156 drone pilots alongside 186 visual observers, a role required by the Federal Aviation Administration.