VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia Beach police are launching a new program at the Oceanfront this Fourth of July weekend that they say will help officers respond faster to serious calls — from the sky.
The department on Thursday unveiled its new “Drones as First Responder” program at Precinct 2 near the Oceanfront. The program uses drones housed in rooftop docking stations, known as hives, that can be deployed remotely by operators inside the city’s Real Time Crime Center.
Police Chief Paul Neudigate called the launch a major step for the department.
“Obviously this is a big day for the Virginia Beach Police Department,” Neudigate said.
Two hives are now installed on top of Precinct 2, with each one holding a drone that can be launched remotely. Once in the air, the drones can provide officers with live video and other information about an active call before officers arrive on scene.
“The analysts within the Real Time Crime Center have the ability to launch this remotely and fly beyond visual line of sight to respond to ongoing incidents happening in and around the Oceanfront,” said Brandon Kyle with the Virginia Beach Police Department.
Police said the drones will not be flying constantly. Instead, they will be deployed for certain emergency calls, including shootings and stabbings. The drones fly below 200 feet and are designed to give officers better situational awareness while responding to incidents.
During a demonstration Thursday, police showed how the drone could quickly identify people connected to a crime scene.
“It’s going to get us there quicker, it’s going to give us situational awareness, it’s going to allow us to maximize the personnel that we do have and it’s going to help us build prosecutable cases,” Neudigate said.
For now, the program is only operating at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Police said the drones’ thermal cameras could also help in searches for someone who may be missing in the water.
The department said there are two additional hives located elsewhere in the resort area, and police hope to expand the program to other parts of the city in the future.
“We’re going to get these up and we’re going to get them running, and these are going to keep the city of Virginia Beach safe,” Neudigate said.
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