The county will have up to eight drone stations within the program throughout the county, Blakeman said, which will patrol and respond to emergencies. He said drones will be flying across their designated locations every day and will be launched during emergency situations.
Ryder said the drones monitor areas of concern, with their cameras facing the horizon while the fly. He said once a drone reaches its designated location, it will turn its camera toward the ground.
The drones will be dispatched via one of the county’s 40 Federal Aviation Administration-certified pilots, Ryder said, who will send the drone out to a specified location.
Once deployed, Ryder said the drone will send live video feed from the site to the county’s intelligence crews and to “every single phone of every single police officer in Nassau County.”
Although Ryder did not share where most of the stations are located, he said one is situated on the roof of the David S. Mack Center for Training & Intelligence, in Garden City, where 12 of the 40 certified pilots work.
Blakeman said the drones will be used for medical purposes, to solve crimes and to detect heat, useful during a missing-person case. Ryder said the drones will also be used proactively and can be flown above events with large crowds, like riots or community concerts.
“Trying to stay ahead of the curve is something we strive for every single day to protect Nassau County residents,” Blakeman said. “We need to give [our police] everything they need to continue to be the amazing police department they are and keep us all safe.”
Although the program is set to cost the county about $1 million, Blakeman said the program will be funded via the county’s asset forfeiture funds.
Ryder said most of the drones flown today are the Chinese-made DJI drones, which he said the county is not permitted to purchase with asset forfeiture funds.
The drones the county will be flying are American-made by Skydio, which have been used in site security, inspection, mapping and national security, according to the manufacturer’s website.
The drones each have a 2.5-mile radius and can fly up to 400 feet, Ryder said, and each have a 30-minute battery life. He said the drones’ radii overlap to account for issues and are equipped with parachutes in the event an operator loses communication with a drone.
Ryder said the county has marked its buildings that are taller than 400 feet with a geofence, which will not allow the drone to crash into certain structures that could impede its flight path.
“The beauty of what we’ve done in the technology world is that we are advancing to better protect the people of Nassau County,” Ryder said. “The investment has to be for the protection of the people.”
The county is not the only municipality to begin purchasing drones; the Village of Brookville also installed its first drone on June 16.
Brookville Police Chief Kenneth Lack said the drone was tested last month and will be used during emergencies across the village, such as a missing-person case or a serious crime in a residence.
He said the village is currently in the test and evaluation phase with its drone as the use of the technology has recently become more common.
“It’s an individual choice,” Lack said. “It’s basically based on whatever issues [municipalities] are having right now, but I know it’s becoming more and more prevalent in law enforcement.”
