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Baltimore County police outline October launch of drone first-responder pilot
Summary
Baltimore County Police briefed the Police Accountability Board on a pilot drone-first-responder program planned to begin in October that will dispatch drones to 911 calls, store footage on evidence.com, and operate initially from Towson with two drones, officials said.
Baltimore County Police Chief McCullough told the Police Accountability Board on Sept. 15 that the department is piloting a drone-first-responder program expected to be operable in October. He said the drones will be dispatched to 911 calls to provide video back to an information center and will not be used for ongoing active surveillance.
The chief said the department has modeled the policy after a Montgomery County program vetted by the ACLU and has held three public information sessions that produced largely positive feedback. "These drones will not be used for any type of active surveillance," he said, adding that video from drone deployments will be stored on evidence.com, the same system used for body-worn camera footage.
Board members asked about how the drones will be deployed and how footage will be used. Chief McCullough said the initial rollout will preposition two drones in the Towson area and that the department typically operates them in pairs so one can replace another as batteries deplete. Planned expansion phases would add drones along the Liberty Road/Old Court corridor and in Randallstown, he said.
On questions whether drone video would provide sufficient situational detail to identify people in mental-health crisis, the chief said camera quality is high and footage will be routed to an information center staffed by experienced detectives. "These people are extremely experienced people who are watching the video," he said, adding that dispatch decisions will depend on the totality of circumstances and call notes.
The chief emphasized that the program is intended as a force multiplier and a timed response tool: drones can arrive in as little as 45 seconds, whereas officer response times average three to seven minutes in the county. He also said equipment is American-made and procured through the same vendor used for the department's body-worn cameras.
Next steps: the department will continue the pilot in Towson, evaluate effectiveness and civil-rights protections, and gradually expand as appropriate; board members said they will monitor deployment details and oversight practices as the program progresses.
