Eye in the sky: Council purchases software for police-operated drones

By George Slaughter, News Editor
Posted 3/2/23

The Katy City Council Feb. 27 approved the purchase of software that enables the police department’s drone program to broadcast a live video feed to police and other emergency management personnel, and improve safety of officers, first responders and the public.

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Eye in the sky: Council purchases software for police-operated drones

Posted

The Katy City Council Feb. 27 approved the purchase of software that enables the police department’s drone program to broadcast a live video feed to police and other emergency management personnel, and improve safety of officers, first responders and the public.

In a memorandum to the council urging the purchase, Police Chief Noe Diaz wrote that the software would enable better allocation of resources and personnel to better manage active scenes, whether they be disasters, looking for wanted, lost or missing persons and search and rescue operations.

“If there’s a lost child, an elderly person missing from home, we can pop it up in infrared and we can get there before the helicopter does,” Diaz said.

Speaking to the council at its meeting, Diaz said the purchase the council was being asked to make was just for software. Eventually, he said, new, more sophisticated drones would be needed, but not at this time.

“This is just a software,” Diaz said. “We’re getting way ahead of other police departments with this science. The software that we’re purchasing allows us to track everything we use the drones for.”

Diaz told the council that the drone has about a three-mile range because of nearby airports. He said police needed flight controller permission before using the drones, but such approval was regular.

While discussing what the drones could do, the drone was actually in operation just outside City Hall. An officer was operating the drone and council members could see the live feed of City Hall, the Katy Harvest Plaza across the street, and local traffic. He said the drone was primarily for the city’s business district, and also for Katy neighborhoods. A key difference of the new software, he said, was that the police can track data it could not in the past.

In his memo, Diaz wrote that the software integrates with the drones that the police already own. It maintains flight logs and all pertinent data that exceeds what the FAA requires. In this way, Diaz wrote, the department is relieved of potential liability in case of audit or accidents.

The contract is with DroneSense Software, an Austin-based company. Diaz said agencies around the state use the software. Diaz recommended that the initial contract be purchased through the police department’s asset forfeiture fund.

“It’s time for us to really step up and protect the community,” Diaz said.

Ciiy of Katy, Katy Police Department, drones, Katy City Council