As Montgomery County police continue to praise the effectiveness of its drone pilot program in Silver Spring and Wheaton, it now plans to expand into Montgomery Village, Gaithersburg and Germantown.
Chief Marcus Jones has said that the drones, which are only activated following a request for service, has enabled the police to use fewer officers, arrive on the scene more quickly and diffuse possible emergencies by photographing at close range whether a suspect has a weapon or the license plate of a getaway vehicle.
The Drone as First Responder will be added to the Upcounty area with funds allocated in the recently approved county budget.
The program prepositions an unmanned aircraft system atop a building. When a 911 or police generated call for service occurs, the drone is programmed to fly to the scene.
For those wishing to learn more about the program, a meeting is planned June 26 at 6:30 p.m. at the Gaithersburg High School cafeteria. Police and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke, Marilyn Balcombe and Sidney Katz will attend the meeting.
Use this Zoom link to join the meeting virtually.
