Commerce City Launches Interesting “Drone as First Responder” Program

To be fair, it was probably only a matter of time before a program like this launched somewhere, but to be honest, it really does make a whole ton of sense.

Think about the response time when someone calls 911. A human needs to grab their keys, run to the emergency vehicle, then drive with lights and sirens across town, zig zagging their way through traffic, no doubt using precious minutes to get where they're going.

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How many times have the police showed up to the scene of a crime only to discover the suspect is long gone?

Imagine a world where when someone calls 911, police get eyes on the scene before they even get there. That's exactly what the Commerce City Police Department is envisioning with the launch of their "Drones As First Responder" program.

The first in Colorado, you can bet other police departments across the state are watching very closely to see how the program unfolds.

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Essentially, drones are placed on the rooftops of government buildings around the city, and in the event something occurs in the city that the police department needs to get eyes on, they program in the address of the incident and within seconds, the drone is off to go have a look.

So far it's already paying off, as just days after launching it helped officers complete a felony arrest.

Denver7 reports that not only did it help make an arrest, it especially contributed to the safe manner in which the officers were able to pursue the suspect.

It really is an interesting idea that makes a ton of sense. Finally, something good being done by drones in the state, rather than just annoying people overhead at events!