Shreveport eyes expanding police drone program

Police Chief Wayne Smith told the committee the biggest advantage could be response time, particularly if the city stations an operator at its 911 communications center who can launch a drone as soon as a call comes in.

During one test, Smith said he contacted SporTran without warning and asked officials to identify a bus number somewhere within boundaries he provided without revealing the bus' location to the drone operator.

“Within, I think it was, 1 minute and 22 seconds, the drone had found the bus and was hovering around it,” Smith said. “If a call came in to 911, there would be no way an officer could be on scene, have eyes on something in a minute 22 seconds.”

Capt. Dean Willis, who oversees the department's drone unit, said the pilot produced similar results during actual calls, with the drone arriving before officers roughly 71% of the time.

In one domestic call, Willis said a supervisor was alone at the scene speaking with one person when another person involved went to a vehicle. The drone operator was able to alert the supervisor to the movement.

“She may not have known that that person was going and retrieving something from the car,” Willis said. “So, officer safety-wise, we did have some really good calls and scenarios where we were able to see good results from.”

The Police Department also used the drones to determine that officers were no longer needed on some calls. Willis said operators could still contact callers to let them know their complaints had been checked even when the reported suspicious vehicle or other activity was no longer present.

In another example, Willis said a drone launched in response to a report of activity at a Walmart parking lot before the call had even been dispatched to officers. The complaint ultimately appeared to be unfounded, he said.

Boucher said the technology could be particularly useful in areas of Shreveport where residents have complained about police response times.

“The thing that I hear the most complaints in District D about is response times,” Boucher said, specifically pointing to Southern Trace and Long Lake.

Strategically positioning drones in outlying areas could allow police to get eyes on a scene while officers are still traveling to the call. Both Boucher and police officials said operating the program would require more than purchasing drones.

“I think that the biggest issue that I have with it is the manning of it,” Boucher said.

He believes the city could fund five or six drones but questioned how it would pay to staff the system. He also said he would prefer an officer operate the drones because police personnel would be trained to recognize details that could be important during a call.

“If we're not able to put someone right there monitoring all the time, then it ain't no different than the drones that we already own,” Smith said.

Shreveport police already have drone pilots available on call, Smith said, but those pilots must retrieve and set up equipment, receive a location and then launch. A dedicated operator at the city's communications center could launch immediately after a call comes in.

Willis said federal aviation rules require someone to control the drone at all times, but the department was told a waiver could allow a single pilot to operate up to four drones simultaneously.

Officials also discussed potentially using recently retired police officers who maintain their law enforcement certification to operate the system.

The program would also differ from the department's existing drone operations by integrating with other police technology. Willis said calls from the computer-aided dispatch system can appear directly on the drone operator's screen along with access to fleet, vehicle-mounted and body-camera information.

“So going to that officer, going to that car is immediate,” Willis said. “You know exactly where they are because of the communication there.”

Bossier City is already operating three drone docks with a designated sergeant during selected hours rather than around the clock. Officials said Bossier reported that during the program's first weekend, a drone responding to a burglary arrived within 36 seconds of launch and observed a suspect carrying items from one apartment to another. Officers were directed to the location and made an arrest, according to the account provided during the meeting.

Committee members also asked about using the drones outside emergency police calls, including assisting property standards personnel, checking rooftops, identifying dangerous dogs, public works, monitoring storm damage and construction projects.

No final cost, funding source or implementation timeline for an expanded Shreveport program was established during the discussion.