Detroit police to add drones for crime fighting

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A FOX 2 Exclusive - drones are coming to the Detroit Police Department, according to Chief Todd Bettison.

Bettison believes the move will improve the department’s ability to investigate crimes.

The backstory:

The chief is calling them "first responder drones" and they are coming to the state’s largest police department.

Bettison gave an example detailing how helpful this tech can be - case where a call came in: Two guys breaking into a house with guns the drone showed up turns out that wasn’t it at all.

"They could see on the feed it wasn’t two men with guns, it was two children like an 8- and 9-year-old with toy guns," he said. "Can you imagine the different type of response from the officers knowing it’s kids with toy guns versus two armed considered dangerous individuals?"

The details are still in flux as to what kind of drones or how many, but the use of drones is rising at all levels of law enforcement.

In fiscal year 2024, the DOJ’s five agency divisions deployed more than 3,200 drone deployments, up almost 47 percent 46.9 % from the previous year.

FOX 2: "Are you working on a policy on the use of drones?"

"It will protect an individual's right to privacy," Bettison said. "The drones will be for public areas."

FOX 2: "Do you think it’s reasonable for drones in the investigation of some alleged crime to be on someone’s property but not in their home without a warrant?"

"It depends," Bettison said. "It's hard to say with a hypothetical, but my primary concern is first responder drones and when a 911 call is made, getting them there ASAP."

Bettison says he’s looking at places like Tampa and Philadelphia.

The chief estimates the next eight months we will likely see drones for law enforcement use.