'Drone as First Responder:' Milwaukee police launch pilot program
MPD 'Drone as First Responder' pilot program
Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman on Wednesday announced the launch of the city's "Drone as First Responder" pilot program.
MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman on Wednesday announced the launch of the city's "Drone as First Responder" pilot program.
How it works
What they're saying:
The Milwaukee Police Department said the drone program, or "DFR," is a police response strategy that uses pre-positioned drones to rapidly respond to calls for police service, often before a uniformed squad can respond because they don't have to navigate through street traffic.
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"We have learned that seconds truly do matter. The goal is to reach the incident, to respond as quickly as possible so that we can make better, more informed decisions and ultimately protect the public that we serve, our officers, and anyone else who might be involved in any ongoing incident," said MPD Sgt. Chris Boss.
Milwaukee 'Drone as First Responder' pilot program launched
MPD Chief Jeffrey Norman debuted the "Drone as First Responder" (DFR) pilot program on Jan. 14 to provide rapid aerial support.
A sworn officer, stationed in a DFR command center, will work as a remote pilot and operate the drones. The pilots monitor calls for service and launch drones to the scene to help provide vital information to the responding officers. Drones return to their docks at the end of any specific operation.
DFR aims to enhance civilian and officer safety by increasing situational awareness, according to police.
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"The vehicle ascends to 200 feet and flies directly to whatever incident it's responding to. As we approach those scenes, we go into a free look," said Boss. "Imagine we were responding to a robbery. We would be looking for a suspect at that point. Upon arrival, we're essentially covering our officers as they respond, and they are getting information about what they're responding to. That's that critical piece of situational awareness that allows us to operate as safely as possible in the interest of the public and in the interest of officers themselves."
Right now, DFR docks are located at Milwaukee Police District 7 on the city's northwest side. Three drones stationed there respond to calls in Police District 3, Police District 5 and Police District 7. Officials noted they are always looking for possible expansion.
"We understand that there is a lot of responsibility to this particular type of tool, which is why we're having this discussion to ensure that the public understands we take this seriously," Norman said. "We are about transparency. We are about leaning in and using technology in a way that not only can help safety for our officers, but also for our community."
Norman said MPD is the first police department in Wisconsin to roll out the program, and one of 50 departments across the country.
MPD drone program
The backstory:
Previously, Milwaukee police launched its drone team in summer 2024, ahead of the Republican National Convention. MPD policies said drones could be used for things like:
- Land and water searches/rescues
- Port security
- Active threats
- Event management for protests/street takeovers
- Evidence collection and crash reconstruction
- Support of patrol operations with team commander approval (foot pursuits, warrant services, shots-fired complaints)
Milwaukee police drone program; support, concern over growth
Should the Milwaukee Police Department use drones to keep the public safe? Supporters say yes, but opponents have privacy concerns.
As of March 2025, city documents showed MPD owned eight drones and had plans to buy more for field-testing and patrol operations. Documents said the police department paid for the drones with what was seized from suspected criminals.
MPD's Airborne Assessment Team had one full-time member and one part-time member in March. A Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission document from that month said the plan was to grow to four full-time pilots and possibly 14 more patrol officers on secondary flight duties.
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The Source: Information in this post was provided by the Milwaukee Police Department.