David King predicts that over the next decade, every police cruiser may come equipped with its own drone.
His guess is arguably better than many.
King is owner of Carnegie-based Steel City Drones, which he says is the largest drone supplier in the region. The firm partners with more than 500 public safety agencies across the country, including dozens locally.
Ten years ago, King said, maybe 1 in 10 police departments had a drone program. Now, he estimates more than half utilize a drone as part of their regular duties.
That’s a trend reflected in the Pittsburgh region, where departments have called drone technology a game changer, improving officer safety and offering previously unattainable views.
Time-saving overwatch
“I think it’s incredible,” said Sgt. Timothy Cole, who heads Pittsburgh police’s drone response unit.
Cole led the push last summer for the bureau to form the unit, which has nine drones and 16 drone-trained officers. The program proved invaluable during the mass influx of people to the city during the NFL Draft in April.
Drones whirred above the hundreds of thousands of visitors, providing overwatch and “eyes” on about 100 incidents, Cole said.
That helped save time and resources, he said.
When callers reported a man on a roof near the event, for example, police drones were able to quickly identify the man as a media photographer and call off responding officers, Cole said.
“We were able to clear these calls in seconds compared to sending 10 guys from the perimeter to come clear this call,” he said.
Some of the most frequent calls for the drone unit are for missing persons, Cole said.
Many drones come equipped with thermal-camera capabilities, which display infrared heat signatures, allowing searches to continue after sunset.
But that also comes in handy when tracking potential criminal suspects, such as when a wanted man ran from his house in the Brownsville Road area into the woods before a planned police raid this spring, he said.
“We were able to lead officers right to him. He was hiding in the woods. Before, it would’ve been a very dangerous situation in the woods with a possible armed suspect,” Cole said. “We were able to say, ‘He’s right here.’ ”
In July, Pittsburgh City Council implemented a drone policy that narrows the use of police drones to certain scenarios, such as search-and-rescues, crowd-control situations and crime-scene documentation.
The policy also prohibits police from placing weapons or hazardous materials on drones or using facial recognition or predictive policing technology as part of the program.
When monitoring large events such as the draft or protests, Cole said, police tend to monitor blanket trends in the crowd rather than zooming in on specific people — though he said police have that capability.
“Often, if there’s something going on, you’ll see the crowd swell one way,” Cole said. “So we’re looking for the overall movements of the crowd.”
Regionwide use
Crowd control is a less common use in Harrison, but officials there said they’ve found drones equally important.
“It’s necessary at this point,” police Chief Brian Turack said.
Harrison’s department operates two drones, which Turack said officers use mainly for search-and-rescue missions.
In Harrison, sliced in half by steep wooded bluffs and sloping hillsides, drones allow police to scan areas that are inaccessible or unsafe for first responders.
Before Harrison obtained its first drone in 2018, the best option for searching hard-to-reach locations was to hope a state police helicopter was available, the chief said.
“If we can’t be there hands on, the next best thing is getting eyes on the situation (with a drone),” Turack said.
To pilot a drone, an officer must pass a Federal Aviation Administration exam, part of the agency’s Part 107 regulations.
Joe Signorella, a Harrison detective and the sole officer licensed to fly department drones, called the Part 107 certification a “dumbed down pilot’s license.” Aside from the exam, he also took a two-day course at the Allegheny County Police Academy, though he said newer drone models are often “dummy proof.”
Drones vary in size and purpose.
Smaller drones, like the ones used by Harrison police, are often easier to deploy and maneuver, though battery power often caps their flight times to around 30 minutes.
Larger drones can stay airborne longer and even carry payloads.
Dennis Stiokis, an Allegheny County Police sergeant who runs his department’s drone program, said county police have seven drones. One of its smaller models — designed to go inside buildings — is especially useful for hostage or SWAT situations, Stiokis said.
Police can even speak to suspects though a two-way microphone, he said.
Mapping out interior spaces without sending officers into harm’s way has been a significant benefit, Stiokis said.
“Having the ability to give (officers) that reassurance that there’s no threat right there helps drastically,” he said.
Allegheny County Police also frequently use drones during searches for missing persons, Stiokis said. They proved instrumental in September during a search for a nonverbal autistic child who wandered into the woods near McKees Rocks. The boy eventually was located by a drone in Kennedy Township and safely recovered.
“If you’re in the woods at night, this thing’s going to see you,” Stiokis said.
Drones also can be used for accident reconstruction and events with hazardous materials, or to assist during fires, said King, of Steel City Drones.
In Latrobe, Cpl. Michelle Preston said police have four drones and are working toward acquiring a fifth. The department obtained its first drone in 2024.
“Drones are the future,” she said.
Drones were a precious tool during a recent search for a man having a mental health crisis in a wooded area near Legion-Keener Park, Preston said.
Import hiccups
The short-term future of drones in public safety, however, remains shaky, King said. That’s because the Federal Communications Commission said in December it would not approve the import of new foreign-made drones, including those of the world’s largest drone manufacturer, Chinese firm DJI.
DJI has been on the cutting edge of drone technology, and police departments and hobbyists rely on the company’s products, King said.
Harrison and Latrobe police utilize DJI drones and spoke highly of the company’s products.
Though the FCC allowed the continued sale of existing DJI models, the agency barred the import of future models, citing a risk to national security.
The problem for local police is that comparable American-made models often are vastly more expensive.
“I kind of saw the writing on the wall for the DJI ban,” Pittsburgh’s Cole said.
He said the bureau paid around double the price for a drone from California-based Skydio than it would have for a comparable DJI model. Still, he said, Skydio’s warranty and customer service benefits offer some solace.
Companies such as California-based Inspired Flight Technologies and French firm Parrot Drones, which manufactures some products in the U.S., likely will rush to fill the void, King said, but it could be some time before other manufacturers can match DJI’s stature.
Expansion likely
King expects the local drive toward police drone programs will only grow.
“In the second half of last year, we had more of an uptick in local public safety agencies buying drones and equipment than we have ever seen,” he said.
It’s something Stiokis, the Allegheny County Police sergeant, also noticed.
Before departments had their own programs, he said, county police frequently received requests for drone services. Those requests have become less frequent.
In Latrobe, Preston said, the department is working toward waivers from the Federal Aviation Administration that would allow police to autonomously deploy a drone from the roof of the police department to survey an emergency scene before first responders arrive.
Cole said he’s hoping for something similar in Pittsburgh. That’s in addition to working toward a fully equipped drone unit in each of the bureaus, he said.
The sergeant said he expects drones to become more ubiquitous but said he is skeptical of King’s predictions. Instead, Cole likened the drone unit to other specialized police groups like a K-9 unit.
Without waivers from the FAA, pilots are required to keep drones within their line of sight, but King expects the agency’s regulations to shift in the coming years.
To make that happen, he said, there need to be improvements in drone technology. Drones need longer battery life and better obstacle avoidance mechanisms to steer clear of barriers such as power lines, King said.
To truly make a leap forward in the drone industry, King said, the FAA likely would have to overhaul its flight-tracking systems to monitor increasingly congested skies and avoid collisions with planes, helicopters or other drones.
As systems and technology improve, King said, he expects drones to become a common part of life for both public safety and consumer convenience. That could mean drones autonomously surveying emergency scenes before first responders arrive or simply zooming overhead to drop off a pizza delivery, King said.
“It’ll change the way our lives are,” he said.