By Dronelife Features Editor Jim Magill
The Kansas City, Missouri Police Department has continued to expand its current drones as first responders (DFR) program, despite concerns that its use of drones and equipment made by Chinese company DJI could raise security issues.
In January Chief Stacey Graves Police created a specialized DFR unit, with four officers who are assigned exclusively to the program, KCPD Major Gregory Williams, DFR program director said in an interview.
Before the creation of the dedicated DFR unit, trained officers assigned to the Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) operated drones in the department’s UAS program. The trained RTCC officers will still be able to fly the UAVs when needed, although they will also maintain a variety of additional responsibilities, Williams said.
“So, we will be having a pilot operate the DFR unit 21 hours out of every day, seven days a week,” Williams said in an interview. He said the creation of a dedicated DFR unit would not only enable the UAVs to respond to service calls faster, but would help address the staffing issues common to police departments across the country.
Like law enforcement agencies across the U.S. the KCPD also has had to face the decision of whether to deploy drones and associated products manufactured by Chinese companies such as DJI, which face significant concerns over the handling of the data the drones collect.
Williams said the department has addressed the data-security issue by choosing separate vendors for the hardware and software components of the system. While the hardware that comprises the department’s DFR fleet is composed of DJI products – the drones are Matrice 4 TD models, while the drone nests are DJI Dock 3s – the software that records the data is produced by Austin-based DroneSense.
The department made its acquisition decisions based on price affordability and the capability of the equipment, after ensuring that all technology deployed by the department complied with federal regulations and cybersecurity guidance, Williams said.
“Originally why we went down the path we did is one, the capability seems to be a little bit more advanced on the Chinese hardware and, two is the cost. It’s a significant difference,” Williams said.
“I can do a full citywide deployment at a fraction of the cost (compared with non-Chinese UAV hardware) with better hardware, better capability, better camera, better flight time.”
Williams added that he does not have many concerns about getting replacement parts and equipment for the department’s DJI technology despite the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) action in December to add foreign-made unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and critical UAS components to its Covered List, citing potential security worries over their use.
“There’s a lot of misinformation out there right now. We’ve been watching the restriction that the FCC has put into place. It does not restrict us from purchasing new docks if we wanted to continue with the Dock 3s,” Williams said. “What it does is if they came out with a new model, currently we would not be able to buy that model.”
He said the department might consider transitioning to the use of American-made UAS hardware some time in the future. The KCPD plans to announce the details of its planned phase 2 of the DFR program within the next 30 days.
“We’re actually testing a Skydio dock currently,” he said. “We haven’t made a decision for phase two, but again, I should know more here in a couple of weeks which direction we’re going to go.”
DFR Program Expected to Improve Call Response Times
The department launched the DFR program last May with a $600,000 grant from the Police Foundation of Kansas City, which allowed KCPD to purchase nine DJI docks. The KCPD expanded the program throughout last year with additional dock deployments across the city. Currently, there are seven fixed docks deployed in locations throughout the city with one mobile dock that can be relocated as operational needs require.
Last November, the City Council approved an additional $500,000 to expand the DFR program. “These funds are primarily being used for infrastructure, equipment and operational support needed to expand coverage areas and improve the department’s ability to deploy drones quickly in response to calls for service,” Williams said in an emailed statement.
“Through savings realized from the initial investment, the department was able to purchase a ninth dock in December. That dock will be deployed at the eighth fixed location within the next 45 days. Each dock houses a drone that can be launched remotely by trained operators,” he said.
The department received its FAA approval to conduct BVLOS operations as part of its DFR program in February 2025. It renewed its Certificate of Waiver (COW), which allows trained operators to remotely deploy drones from dock locations, in January.
FAA’s current approval for the city’s DFR program allows flights up to 200 feet AGL. “Through the department’s counter-UAS grant project, additional sensor infrastructure is currently being deployed that will support future 400-foot DFR operations. Once that system is operational, the department plans to request an updated Certificate of Waiver to include DFR operations up to 400 feet,” Williams said.
The city’s DFR drones are capable of traveling approximately 30 to 40 mph depending on conditions. This speed allows them to quickly reach incidents in time to provide officers with situational awareness before they arrive on the scene.
Under the department’s DFR protocols, specially trained officers evaluate calls coming into the city’s 911 call center to determine whether a drone should be deployed to assist responding officers. When appropriate, the officers can launch a drone remotely to quickly provide aerial support.
Although they use automated navigation technology to travel to their designated location, while in flight the drones remain under the supervision and control of trained operators at all times to ensure compliance with FAA requirements and department policy.
“In many cases the drone can arrive before officers, giving responding units a better understanding of what they are approaching. This can improve response efficiency, enhance officer safety, and help prioritize resources,” Williams said. “In some situations, the aerial response may allow a UAV officer to resolve or assess a call from the air, which could reduce the need for additional officers to respond.”
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Jim Magill is a Houston-based writer with almost a quarter-century of experience covering technical and economic developments in the oil and gas industry. After retiring in December 2019 as a senior editor with S&P Global Platts, Jim began writing about emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robots and drones, and the ways in which they’re contributing to our society. In addition to DroneLife, Jim is a contributor to Forbes.com and his work has appeared in the Houston Chronicle, U.S. News & World Report, and Unmanned Systems, a publication of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.
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