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Sunnyvale public-safety details drone program and promises public logs for uses
Summary
Officials said a drone program started in 2018 supports missing-person searches and incident assessments and that every drone deployment is logged on the city website; they also discussed research into a "drone-as-first-responder" model.
City public-safety officials described Sunnyvale's drone program, how the department logs use of drones and research into using drones as first responders for initial scene assessment.
Chief Pho Ngo said the department began a drone program in 2018 and uses it for missing-person searches, scene assessment after major incidents and training. "Every time we use a drone, we would log it and post it," Ngo said, adding that transparency was part of the program's promise when it was approved.
Research and future use: Ngo said the department is evaluating a "drones as first responder" pilot that would deploy a drone to a call to assess officer safety and scene conditions before officers arrive. He said the program is under analysis and not yet implemented.
Why it matters: Officials said drones can help avoid unnecessary officer deployments when a situation has cleared and can improve officer safety by providing early situational awareness. The department pledged to maintain logs of drone use on the city website and to be transparent about training flights and incident deployments.
Related technology: Officials discussed the drone program alongside other technology rollouts such as automated license-plate readers. They said both programs include logging and public reporting elements to increase transparency.
