Arlington County, Virginia, officials are asking residents to share their thoughts about using drones for public safety by New Year’s Day.
The new Unmanned Aircraft Systems program would help to increase Arlington County’s response to emergencies, according to a statement from the county. Fire, police and sheriffs offices are developing the program alongside the county’s public safety communication and emergency management department.
“Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) provide enhanced operational capability, safety, and situational awareness for first responders in support of public safety. The UAS Program will only be utilized for specific public safety missions and will be operated only by trained and authorized personnel in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations,” the release stated.
The county said that it would like the public’s input and feedback on its draft training, operations and oversight policies by Monday, Jan. 1, 2024.
Draft policies outline that drones could be used for “situational awareness of public safety incidents, search and rescue operations and evidence collection.” The policy would also require approval of drone missions by program managers and documentation of flights taken for training or mission purposes.
Comments can be provided to the department online via the county’s website. Officials ask anyone with questions about the policy to email ACPDpolicy@arlingtonva.us with their inquiry.
If policies are finalized and the program is approved, Arlington County will join several others that have already acquired and expanded drone use for public safety operations.
Loudoun County, Virginia, public safety officials were among the growing number of jurisdictions that took up drone use in 2017. Montgomery County, Maryland, recently expanded its calls to use drones as first responders to select 911 calls in the fall.
However, concerns about drone use by public safety officials have surfaced in the D.C. region and across the country. In 2018, Fairfax County officials elected to delay their first responder program for drones after its Board of Supervisors deemed more public input was necessary.
“We need to look at the civil rights implications for our citizens,” Public Safety Committee Chairman John Cook said during a county meeting. “People tend to think that they have privacy in their backyard, and they won’t necessarily have that if there’s an inadvertent [camera shot].”
National concerns around privacy were raised recently when New York police shared its plans to use drones to monitor Labor Day weekend parties happening around the city.
