The Brief
- The St. Petersburg Police Department has expanded its drone program to include drones that respond to real-time police calls.
- The drones cut response time by more than half and are controlled remotely, allowing pilots to relay suspect descriptions and scene conditions as officers arrive.
- Police officials plan to expand the fleet and docking stations over the next two years across the city.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – St. Petersburg police officers have a new vantage point on crime scenes before they even step out of their patrol cars, thanks to a fleet of 11 drones that have cameras that live stream information about suspects and scenes, and get there in half the time.
The backstory:
Officers have used drones since 2019 for things like traffic investigations, SWAT and to give a bird’s eye view of the initial damage after the 2024 hurricanes. They started using them to respond to active police calls, though, in March 2025.…