Photo courtesy of Sparks Police Department.
Sparks, NV – The Sparks Police Department announces the implementation of a cutting-edge, first of its kind in Northern Nevada, made in America, Drone as First Responder program designed to improve emergency response times and enhance community safety.
Program Overview
The Sparks Police Department’s drone program provides critical aerial support during search and rescue missions, natural disasters, crime prevention, and critical incident responses. Sparks Police is adding a docked drone to its fleet. This new drone will be housed in a central location within the City.
Key program components include:
- Technology:
- Officers currently operate a fleet of drones equipped with high-resolution cameras, thermal imaging, obstacle avoidance, and GPS tracking.
- The additional fixed drone is charged and deployed from a “Dock”, which is strategically placed to enable response to the most critical 911 calls in less than 2 minutes, day or night.
- This drone is able to utilize GPS coordinates from the dispatch system for automated deployment to the area of the call.
- This gives first responders scene visuals as they are responding to improve utilization of resources.
- Similar uses in the country have shown up to a 30% reduction in response to violent calls for service by cancelling calls as the 911 call information is past tense or no longer active: thus, freeing up first responder time for other pending calls.
- Training: All DFR operators have obtained the FAA’s Part 107 Pilot’s License, certified training through the FAA, and will be operating within the Sparks Police Department’s departmental policy.
Privacy and Operational Guidelines
The Sparks Police Department emphasizes its commitment to protecting community privacy. Drone operations will strictly adhere to:
- Comprehensive privacy protocols
- Clear operational guidelines
- Compliance with local, state, and federal laws and regulations
- Personal privacy will be protected when the drones are in use based on state and federal laws
Community Impact
This program is expected to reduce response times, minimize risks to citizens and first responders, and provide comprehensive emergency support.
Additionally, the drone program will aid in solving crimes committed within the City of Sparks and neighboring jurisdictions.
