Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Drones topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves drone policy; police say foundation funding likely for equipment
Summary
The council unanimously approved the city’s unmanned aerial systems policy. Police Chief Whitehead told the council the department may acquire drones funded in part by the police foundation and discussed training, operator certification and software needs for recordkeeping.
The Junction City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve an unmanned aerial systems (drone) policy for the police department. Chief Whitehead presented the policy, described it as based on a Lexipol model, and said the city would only deploy drones after establishing operator training, licensing and procedures that comply with local laws.
Why it matters: Council approval sets rules for when police can deploy drones, the training required for operators and expectations about transparency and recordkeeping if the department obtains aircraft.
Chief Whitehead said the department may obtain its first drone through fundraising by the Junction City Police Foundation. He described a lower‑cost drone the department is considering at roughly $2,000 and said higher‑end platforms (with infrared and longer range capabilities) and the necessary software and batteries would add to the total cost. The chief noted the department has identified three prospective operators from internal letters of interest and that operators would need licensing and planned‑flight coordination to avoid collision or intrusions into restricted airspace.
Whitehead described potential public‑safety uses including locating missing or vulnerable people, using infrared for heat signatures and passing GPS coordinates to ground officers. He also told the council that vendors provide software to log flight plans and link evidence‑storage to deployments so staff could demonstrate when and why a drone flew on a given call.
Councilor Westford moved approval of the policy; Councilor Leach seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Whitehead said the foundation’s fundraising target falls “somewhere between 35 and 70” (as described in the staff presentation) and that final equipment selections would depend on the foundation’s donations and department priorities.
No purchase was authorized at this meeting; the vote approved the policy and the department’s approach to operator selection and training.
