Marysville police use drones during pilot program aiming to improve 911 response

MARYSVILLE, Wash. - More police departments in western Washington are incorporating drones into 911 responses, using the technology to enhance policing, improve response times, and increase safety.

Marysville Police Department is participating in a week-long pilot program to see if the technology is a good fit for the agency. So far, officers are seeing promising results.

"It helps us do our job and deliver police services much more effectively and efficiently," said TJ San Miguel, patrol corporal and public information officer for Marysville Police Department. "It’s only going to enhance our ability to respond to their needs. And they’re not going to stop police officers, that’s not going to happen. It’s just going to allow us to better serve them quicker, keep ourselves safer, keep the community safer, and, honestly, sometimes suspects as well."

Snohomish County 911 (Sno911) is leading this demonstration project. 

What's next:

From August 6-13, public safety agencies across Snohomish County are testing what’s called a Real-Time Information Center (RTIC), while working in tandem with drone (DFR – Drone as First Responder) capabilities. Sno911 said the goal is to evaluate how live intelligence and aerial video can improve response times, scene safety, coordination, and overall outcomes.

"More often, we can’t be everywhere at one time. So, by deploying these drones ahead of time, we can see a little bit more details of what could be going on and it could also even prevent us from having to respond to a location if we realize that it’s not a police matter or perhaps it should go to another agency or perhaps even just the fire department," said San Miguel.

The RTIC is a staffed center that supports 911 calls by monitoring live video feeds from drones, as well as license plate readers, mapping tools, and databases.

What they're saying:

"It’s a very centralized location so that we can put all of our data together in one place and be able to utilize technology to solve crimes and respond to emergency situations," said San Miguel.

Everett Police Department is one of the agencies in the county that is participating in the pilot program. 

So far, the DFR program has worked for Redmond Police Department, which became the first in Washington state to adopt the technology full-time.

Concerns about police drone use in Washington

The idea of using the technology does come with questions from the community about transparency and privacy. Sno911 addresses those concerns.

"Neither drones nor RTIC are used for mass surveillance or random patrol. They are typically activated in response to specific 911 calls or high-priority incidents. However, there will be extra flights during the pilot week to learn about and test out different equipment.  All activity is documented, accountable, and purpose-driven."

Sno911 continued, saying, "Strict safeguards are in place. RTIC and drone operations follow an Acceptable Use Policy and are limited to public safety use only. No facial recognition. No monitoring of protests, healthcare movements, or individuals based on race, religion, or other protected characteristics."

What you can do:

San Miguel said once the pilot program concludes, the information collected will be reviewed. Should the department choose to move forward with the technology, a proposal needs to be reviewed and discussed by Marysville City Council. There will also be opportunities for public comments.

"The only time that we’re ever using these technologies is to do our job better. To deliver better police services," said San Miguel. "We in Marysville feel like we have very good trust in our community, and we hope they’ll continue to trust us in that way. We appreciate that trust, and it matters a lot to us."

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