This Police Agency In Westchester Will Test Drones As First Responders

YONKERS, NY — The Yonkers Police Department has unveiled a new tool that it believes will help give police a leg up when responding to emergencies.

The Yonkers Police Department announced the launch of the City of Yonkers' Drone as a First Responder (DFR) pilot program, in partnership with Motorola Solutions Inc., Flying Lion Inc., Westchester Drone Ops and St. Joseph’s Medical Center.

Drone as a First Responder is an innovative and transformative use of unmanned aircraft systems (better known as drones) by public safety professionals to assist in everyday operations, according to the architects of the program. This technology has not been implemented in Westchester in this way ever before, police offcials said when unveiling the new program.

The Yonkers Police Department has committed to a 60-day pilot program to assess the use of this technology to improve public safety efforts. For this pilot program, the Yonkers Police Department will use one drone — a DJI M300 series — equipped with high-definition cameras and thermal imaging.

The drone will be responding to calls for service alongside, and overhead, officers on the street, police officials said on Wednesday.

When a priority call for service is received, the drone will launch from the roof of St. Joseph’s Medical Center and be jointly operated by a pilot on the roof within sight of the drone, as well as a pilot controlling it remotely from the YPD AWARE Crime Control Center. From this launch location, the drone has a range that reaches about 60 percent of all police calls in Yonkers.

The drone's real-time video feed will be streamed to officers and supervisors in the field via a smartphone and laptop app. In many cases, responders will be able see the emergency scene before arriving. The ability to evaluate the resources needed, prepare the proper operational response, and increase the safety of the first responders and the public is the intent of the project and the mission of this program, Yonkers public safety officials said.

"I’m so proud the City of Yonkers is the first and only municipality in Westchester County utilizing this program," Mayor Mike Spano said. "By keeping up with evolving technology, we have another tool that allows us to serve our community in a way we never have been able to before. This will allow for more informed decisions, a bird’s eye view, and an unmatched advantage in critical situations. Thank you to Motorola Solutions, Flying Lion, and Westchester Drone Ops for the assistance in providing us with this resource."

To maintain trust and transparency, all drone flight logs will be published on the Yonkers Police Department website to show the community how the drone is being used. Officials promise the logs will be updated daily, and the public will be able to see the date and time of flights, flight paths, and duration, as well as the reason for the flight and the call type it responded to.

"Policing is a difficult profession," Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza said. “Despite the challenges, our Officers here in Yonkers consistently prove they are the best at what they do. Today, we are giving them yet another tool to help them serve the people of this City with the addition of our drone as a first responder. This new technology transforms traditional police response by allowing our Officers to view a scene while responding, giving them vital information that can be used to make more informed decisions upon arriving."

The pilot program will operate five days per week, eight hours per day, through August 31. After program completion, an assessment of the operation will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of this technology in Yonkers. If the pilot program is successful, a plan to move towards a full-time operation could be put in place.