The Arlington PD grants the FAA waiver on the use of drones for faster reaction and security of crime

With the progress of the technology, the Arlington police are changing over time.

“I think the most promising technology for public security are drones,” said Al Jones, chief of police from Arlington.

The department said that it would now use drones to react to burglaries, severe attacks, missing people and much more. This change takes place after the FAA has received more freedom.

“Today I am proud to be able to tell you that the Arlington Police Department is one of the first agencies in the United States, which are granted by FAA an indescribable waiver of the line of sight,” said the Arlington police, SGT. Eric Borton.

As early as 2023, the department began testing its drone program by reacting to fireworks calls on July 4 and on the New Year's weekend.

At that time, the FAA regulations were limited to how far drones could fly, but with this change the police can now operate drones from the real -time criminal center and send them further.

“The plane can fly about one and a half miles, which is much further than they could see in the past,” said Borton.

The department has 15 drones and said 40 civil servants were trained for the company. Arlington PD also installed two drone socks so that the officers can start the device immediately.

“The plane can travel up to 35 miles per hour. In many cases, we are there that the responsible remote pilot is there before the officials arrive there,” said Borton.

Jones believes that drone technology can bring the officials to safety if it responds to calls by up to 75-95%, “depending on the information that we can catch up with in the air”.