Sunny Isles police debut new drone system that cost department $250K

SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla. — Law enforcement agencies measure response time in minutes, but in Sunny Isles Beach, they do it in seconds.

From start to lift off, 20 seconds or 30 tops.

Sunny Isles Beach Police Lieutenant Melissa Porro calls the autonomous drone technology, which is the first of its kind in Florida, a life saver.

“We can visually see what we’re going into,” she said.

That can be critical when officers must rush to a crime scene, as they’re no longer blind heading into potential danger.

The department has seven drone pilots. They’re stationed in the department’s real time crime center, right next to dispatchers.

Once a pilot tells it where to go, the drone can, on its own, easily maneuver between buildings, and search for missing people who are either lost in the city or in the ocean.

Sergeant Jonathan Konetz is the drone team leader,

“It also has infrared capability, which is helpful at night,” he said. “Heat signatures as you can see.”

With that infrared, the autonomous drone also can monitor the beach at night, so there is no need for officers to patrol when they close at sundown.

The drones can also give live, verbal commands, so the pilot can warn people to get off the beach or warn people away from a crash or an active crime scene.

The city spent $250,000 for the drone, docking station and a separate mobile unit.

Porro called the technology the future of law enforcement.

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