Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
El Centro police say drone program has boosted safety; officials stress rules and oversight
Summary
Acting Deputy Chief Renee McNish told the City Council the department’s two-drone program has provided real‑time intelligence and supported arrests while emphasizing FAA oversight, strict supervisor approval and recorded flights; council and residents asked about privacy, costs and future expansion.
Acting Deputy Chief Renee McNish told the El Centro City Council on Tuesday that the city’s police drone program has become a “force multiplier” for public safety, helping officers locate missing people, gather intelligence in critical incidents and reduce risk for first responders.
The update, which included a short video produced by department media staff, said the department operates two Skyo X10 drones and had completed more than 360 total flights and roughly 80 flight hours combined. McNish said the program deployed 78 times across 21 missions in 2024, 300 deployments across 109 missions in 2025, and recorded 24 deployments in 2026 that department staff linked to 10 arrests.
McNish emphasized the program’s limits: flights are mission‑driven and targeted — used for perimeter searches, armed‑suspect incidents, search warrants, missing‑person searches, SWAT overwatch and fire hazard assessment — not for continuous surveillance. She said all flights are governed by an FAA Certificate of Authorization, approved by a supervisor, and logged in detail; flight records, the camera’s field of view and controller inputs are retained so the department can verify whether a given location or backyard was recorded.
Council members pressed for specifics on retention and transparency. McNish said each flight logs the flight path, the camera’s gimbal angle and whether the camera was recording, and that the department can produce those logs to respond to public complaints. She also said program training is ongoing — monthly sessions averaging about four hours — and that pilots hold FAA certifications.
Funding and oversight were recurring themes. McNish said the program has been paid largely with grant funding (including COPS funds) rather than city general‑fund dollars; she said the department will continue to seek grants to expand the fleet. The police and fire departments both hold FAA‑authorized certificates that allow UAS operations in Imperial County, McNish added.
Members of the public and the council asked about future expansion plans, including a drone‑as‑first‑responder capability that would allow drones to launch immediately on high‑priority calls. McNish said the next phase is to pursue approvals that would enable automatic launch on certain calls and to expand the fleet to improve coverage, noting a cautious approach to costs and public concern.
The department requested no funding from the council at the meeting and said it aims to maintain recorded oversight, supervisor approval of flights and a strict mission‑based policy.
What’s next: Council members asked staff to provide periodic usage summaries and to continue community outreach as the program seeks grant funding for expansion.
