Dallas police are taking their response to new heights

[00:00:02]They are non-human patrol officers that can fly autonomously.

[00:00:06]>> I could actually fly this thing 35 miles an hour into a building and it will stop.

[00:00:10]>> Provide live camera feeds.

[00:00:13]>> If you look right here, you can actually see the inspection camera.

[00:00:15]>> And respond to calls in as little as 2 minutes. Drones that can respond to 911 calls are now a major part of the Dallas Police Department's arsenal of crime-fighting weapons.

[00:00:26]>> So, it's really going to be a game-changer for us.

[00:00:28]>> Launchable from eight docking stations spread out across the city, DPD's drone first responder program will soon begin answering calls such as those involving suspicious people and packages, as well as random gunfire. Calls that can free up patrol officers for those calls that are more urgent or require human interaction.

[00:00:48]>> Say we have a call with a a missing child in the woods.

[00:00:53]This drone can get on site within 2 minutes with thermal cameras and be able to spot anything in the woods.

[00:01:00]>> Our hope in this is what I said is to reduce response times and effectively clear calls without having ground units respond to those calls.

[00:01:06]>> Right now, the drones can fly up to around 40 miles an hour and have a battery life of 45 minutes. But, it's the precious minutes the drones will hopefully free up for patrol officers on the ground that has DPD excited about its potential impact on public safety.