Cathedral City Expands Drone First Responder Program: Five Rooftop Drones to Cover About 90% of the City
The police department in Cathedral City, a city in Riverside County, California, is expanding its Drone First Responder program: three rooftop drones are now deployed, and once all five are in place the program is expected to cover approximately 90 percent of the city limits. Police Chief Rick Sanchez described the program in the city's November 5 municipal digest.
Sanchez said the rooftop drones, placed at strategic locations across the city, can arrive over a scene before personnel on the ground and deliver real-time aerial information to responding police officers, firefighters and other city staff, helping them assess hazards, make informed decisions and determine where resources are needed.
Through a partnership with the Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG), a fourth rooftop drone is being pursued, and the city has secured grant funding for a fifth. The pilot team is also growing: the department currently has eight drone pilots, with eight additional personnel scheduled for training this month, expanding the roster to 16.
The benefits extend beyond police response: during an active fire the drones give firefighters an aerial view, and during severe weather and flooding they help Public Works document damage and gauge affected areas, as during Tropical Storm Hilary and flooding along Varner Road.
Sanchez said Cathedral City was the second city in the Coachella Valley to implement a rooftop Drone First Responder program, and that other cities and agencies have begun using it as a model.
(Source: City of Cathedral City)
Source: City of Cathedral City
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Cathedral City 市区街景（自加州111号公路一带望向市区与山峦）。Patrick Pelster 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Cathedral City street view near State Route 111. Photo by Patrick Pelster, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
