Newport Beach Police Department to expand drone program
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The Newport Beach City Council Tuesday approved expanding the police department’s drone program through American technology company Skydio, an action expected to cost several million dollars over the next six years.
Department officials had requested the addition of Skydio drones, docks and related systems for the department’s drone program, along with adding body cameras for park patrol and parking control officers.
However, in order to install these new devices, the remaining 73 months of a 10-year contract with Axon Enterprise, Inc., a technology and weapons company responsible for creating military and law enforcement equipment, must be amended.
A city staff report prepared by Deputy Chief Shawn Randell and Chief of Police David Miner put the cost for the requested amendment at nearly $752,000 in the first year along; over the six years remaining on the contract, costs will reach more than $4.5 million.
Such an expansion will allow the department to purchase Skydio drones and technologies for the NBPD’s drone fleet through Axon throughout the remainder of the established contract.
But, even with the additional costs, law enforcement officials remain confident the benefit of this collaboration will exceed the extra costs.
“Skydio is a strategic partner with Axon, who we currently use for digital evidence storage, body worn cameras and several other tools. In short, Skydio will integrate with many of our current systems,” Randell said in an email interview.
“Newport Beach has unique challenges with regards to our geographical location, [including] tall buildings, hills, and regular connectivity issues. We found for us, Skydio has the current capability of overcoming those.”
Over the last three months with Axon, according to Randell, the NBPD has used drones 912 times at the scene of crimes, accidents or other necessary police interventions.
In those instances, drones were the first to arrive on scene nearly 65% of the time, locating objects 4% of the time, vehicles nearly 12% of the time and people 22.5% of the time. The drones were also said to provide helpful intel and overwatch support to officers.
Skydio, which designs and manufactures autonomous AI-powered drones, has established a Drone as First Responder (DFR) program used across the country and by 83 agencies in California.
According to Skydio’s website, the DFR program is set to “provide live aerial intelligence to officers… or clear calls without sending an officer.” The company also promises new levels of speed, safety and efficiency.
“We expect the expansion of our drone program to significantly enhance our ability to respond to calls for service in a timely, informed, and efficient manner,” Randell said. “By increasing coverage and availability, drones can provide officers with real-time situational awareness before they arrive on scene, help locate people or vehicles more quickly and allow us to better determine what resources are actually needed.”
Carroll is a contributor to the Daily Pilot
