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St. Charles County Police win re-accreditation; chief outlines drone-first responder rollout and grant-funded surveillance program
Summary
The St. Charles County Police Department received a re-accreditation award and Chief Kirk Fris presented departmental staffing and crime statistics and described plans for a five-site drone-first-responder program and a grant to fund BOWATCH staffing and vehicles.
The St. Charles County Police Department received its re-accreditation at the June 29 county council meeting, and Chief Kirk Fris used the occasion to outline recent department statistics and upcoming program expansions, including a planned drone-first-responder rollout and a federal grant to fund BOWATCH operations.
An official introduced Dr. Hibden, a professor of criminology who serves on the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies; Dr. Hibden congratulated the department, noting accreditation is a multi-year, evidence-driven process that requires detailed records and ongoing compliance with evolving standards. "This takes tremendous work ... The standards are changing all the time in law enforcement. It is a great accomplishment," Dr. Hibden said.
Chief Kirk Fris reported the department has 222 employees, 179 sworn officers and three current vacancies. He said patrol handled over 42,000 directed-patrol activities, more than 4,300 calls for service and more than 7,100 police reports in the past year. He also highlighted regional partnerships: the county participates in the regional real-time crime center (RICK), which supports nearly 100 agencies and was named Real-Time Crime Center of the Year for 2025.
On technology and operations, the chief described the county’s drone-first-responder (DFR) program, planned to operate from five county sites to provide initial "eyes on" an incident before officers arrive. He said the program should be live in late July or early August and that the DFRs are intended to enhance officer and public safety by rapidly assessing situations.
Separately, the council introduced bill 5502, which would accept a U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant of $467,982 to support BOWATCH program participation; the measure adds one program manager position and six intermittent technical positions and authorizes vehicles and related expenditures funded 100% by the grant. Chief Fris said the positions are intermittent and the grant is expected to be renewable.
The council voiced appreciation for community-engagement efforts, including a citizens' police academy and youth camp. Council members asked follow-up questions about drone coverage areas, grant renewability, and how the DFR program would be integrated operationally; the chief said communications with officers would be continuous and the program would allow remote assessment that can change response tactics on arrival.
What’s next: The accreditation was celebrated at the meeting; bill 5502 (the BOWATCH grant appropriation) was introduced and will return for final action in a future meeting.
