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Local news group's survey finds support for smoke detectors, asks for drone privacy limits and EMS staffing
Summary
Informa reported survey results to council showing a majority favoring free smoke detectors and stronger privacy rules for police drones; respondents also supported funding part-time EMS roles to reduce overtime costs.
Chris Morey, representing local nonprofit news organization Informa, presented survey results to Pittsburgh City Council during public comment on Dec. 2. Morey said the outlet asked residents about several items discussed in recent budget hearings and committee testimony.
On free smoke detectors, 68% of respondents "supported or strongly supported" the city funding smoke detectors for residents despite budget pressure. On police drones—after Informa reported that nine drones were purchased in 2025—respondents most commonly favored restricting drone use to certain incident types, prohibiting facial recognition on drone footage, or requiring warrants for drone deployment; public disclosure of deployments was also a frequently chosen option.
On EMS staffing, Morey said 85% of respondents somewhat or strongly supported funding part-time EMS positions within the new EMS contract to reduce reliance on overtime, while 6.4% opposed and about 9% were unsure. Morey said the survey received 50 responses.
Morey offered to share full survey data with council and the clerk's office. The survey was presented as community feedback for councilmembers to consider ahead of final budget decisions.
