12-03-2025
Montgomery County PD expands drone program to Bethesda
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. () — On Wednesday, Montgomery County leaders and the Montgomery County Department of Police announced that it is expanding its Drone as First Responder Program (DFR) to Bethesda.
The program first launched in Montgomery County in November 2023. Since then, the drones have completed over 2,000 flights and operate in the downtown Silver Spring, Wheaton/Glenmont, and Gaithersburg/Montgomery Village areas.
'I'm thrilled about the long-awaited expansion of the Drone as First Responder Program in Bethesda, which will help us leverage technology to reduce response times and improve public safety,' said Councilmember Andrew Friedson, who represents Bethesda.
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Since its induction, the DFR has improved emergency response efforts and assisted law enforcement. The drone's average response time is under 90 seconds, but officials noted that drones typically reach the scene in under 60 seconds.
Data from DFR's dashboard reflected that the drones were mostly deployed in theft and robbery cases. The second-highest number of calls were for suspicious people or vehicles.
According to Montgomery County, they have also been used to help locate crime suspects, people experiencing mental health crises and missing persons.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich emphasized that the program was part of ongoing efforts to leverage technology and make operations more effective.
'The Drone as First Responder Program represents one of our largest and smartest investments in utilizing technologies to keep our communities safer and our police and first responders safer,' said Elrich.
According to Montgomery County, in 2024, overall crime dropped across the county by 7%, but the number of homicides and carjackings showed the largest drop. Late last year, officials noted that a conviction was secured because of evidence obtained from a drone camera.
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