Southfield council approves one-year Flock Safety drone-as-first-responder trial

The Southfield City Council voted on March 23 to approve a one-year, no-cost trial of Flock Safety’s Drone-as-First-Responder (DFR) system for police and fire response, aiming to reduce response times and provide aerial situational awareness during emergencies.

Police leaders and Flock Safety representatives told council members the trial would deploy four drones with two rooftop docking bays at the police station and Fire Station No. 5, provide around-the-clock coverage with automatic handoff between units, and aim for response times “closer to 80 or 90 seconds” from launch, compared with minutes for patrol-deployed drones. Sergeant Michael Morrish, who runs the department’s current drone program, described the trial as an opportunity to evaluate remotely launched drones that can arrive on scene before ground units.

Flock Safety staff described technical and privacy features: operational deployments that allow rooftop launches to eliminate 'dead minutes' between arrival and launch; thermal sensors for fire and search tasks; integration with existing license-plate-reader systems; and a transparency portal that shows flight paths, dates, times and usage metrics. A company representative said captured video would be hard-deleted after 30 days unless preserved by the police or fire department for investigation purposes and that permanent audit logs would record system use.

Council questions focused on training, long-term costs, weather resiliency, data retention, and community notification. Ian Vakas of Flock Safety said the vendor provides the FAA waivers, training for the agency, and onboarding for operations; the company said training is included in the pilot. Police staff said they expect to return to council with hard data from the trial — including response times, call types served, and use statistics — before any purchase decision. Chief of Police said the department currently has officers already trained on drone operation and would use existing drones alongside the DFR program during the trial.

Councilman Manuel moved to approve the trial and Council President Pro Tem Hogue supported the motion; the council voted 'Aye' and carried the motion. The motion approved the one-year trial; the transcript does not record a detailed vote tally by individual member. Staff said they will provide a post-trial report and any recommended budget requests if the program is proposed to continue.

What to watch for: A staff report after the trial that includes response-time metrics, privacy/audit reports, and a proposed funding plan if the council is asked to purchase or subscribe after the pilot.