Portland Police To Use Drones As First Responders In New Pilot Program – KXL

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Police Bureau, in partnership with the Gresham Police Department, has launched a Drone as First Responder pilot program aimed at improving emergency response times, enhancing public safety and de-escalating potentially dangerous situations.

The program will operate out of Portland Police’s East Precinct, where two of Gresham’s unmanned aerial systems have been installed on the roof. The drones will soon begin responding directly to certain emergency calls within a 2.5-mile radius — covering roughly 19 square miles.

Unlike traditional drone use where devices are stored in vehicles and deployed by officers at the scene, the DFR model keeps drones in a “ready-to-launch” state. Pilots stationed in a control room — including both PPB and GPD personnel — will remotely operate the drones, which can reach calls at the edge of their range in under two minutes.

The drones are intended to provide real-time situational awareness to officers en route, allowing for better coordination, faster decision-making and, in some cases, redirecting calls to non-police resources when appropriate.

Gresham’s DFR program has been operational since May 2023 and includes a similar setup at City Hall and the Rockwood Public Safety Facility. Portland will not be purchasing new drones for the pilot; instead, it will use Gresham’s existing “drone-in-a-box” equipment. The only added cost will be staffing.

The drones will not be used for general surveillance, and their use is bound by Oregon state law and PPB’s internal policies. Cameras are angled toward the horizon during flight and are only activated to record when there is a reasonable expectation of capturing evidence of a crime.

Privacy concerns are being taken seriously, police officials said. Drones will not record or transmit images from private areas without a warrant or exigent circumstances. The devices are also prohibited from being weaponized, used for mass surveillance, or deployed in discriminatory ways.

In the first seven months of 2025, PPB drones were deployed 426 times without receiving a single community complaint, according to the Bureau.

The DFR program will initially run on a limited schedule and involve just two drones at East Precinct. If successful, officials say it could be expanded to other parts of the city — with full transparency and public reporting.