That enabled approval for the program to be granted in just days when previously it could take up to a year.

Some 50 agencies started drone programs between 2018 and 2024, said Charles Werner, a retired Charlottesville, Virginia, fire chief who founded DRONERESPONDERS, an advocacy group that promotes responsible drone use, and now “a handful of departments per week” are adopting it, said Divy Shrivastava, CEO of Paladin Drones, a drones as first responders manufacturer.

Law enforcement and drone industry leaders praise the technology as lifesaving, with the potential to significantly aid police in incidents ranging from missing persons cases to active shooters.

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