SFPD launched a “Drones as First Responders” program in 2024 after voters approved Measure E, allowing drones for emergency response and surveillance. Flight-log analysis shows surveillance flights began in mid-2024, with dozens of flights each month. By spring 2025, monthly flights exceeded 100, and by February 2026 the department had launched more than 600 surveillance flights. Drone surveillance has focused mainly on the Mission, South of Market, and the Tenderloin. Training flights increased in late 2025, reaching 274 flights in January. Common triggers for drone deployment include stolen vehicles, robbery, burglary, reports of a person with a gun, and auto burglary. ABC7 received rare access to the Real-Time Investigation Center, where operators control rooftop-launched drones and monitor live video feeds to assist officers in the field.
"The San Francisco Police Department launched its “Drones as First Responders” program in 2024 after voters approved Measure E, a public-safety-focused overhaul that enabled the department to add drones to its emergency response and surveillance operations."
"An analysis of flight logs found that SFPD began conducting dozens of surveillance flights each month beginning in mid-2024. By spring 2025, monthly flights surpassed 100. By February 2026, the department launched more than 600 surveillance flights."
"Geographically, drone surveillance has been concentrated primarily in three neighborhoods: the Mission, South of Market and the Tenderloin. Training flights ramped up in late 2025, reaching 274 flights in January."
"The most common incidents to prompt drone deployment were stolen vehicles, followed by robbery, burglary, reports of a person with a gun, and auto burglary. ABC7 Eyewitness News was granted rare access to the San Francisco police department's Real-Time Investigation Center, where operators control drones launched from rooftops across San Francisco."
#police-drones #public-safety-policy #surveillance-oversight #san-francisco-neighborhoods #real-time-monitoring
Read at ABC7 San Francisco
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