Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich Announces Expansion of County Department of Police’s ‘Drone as First Responder Program’ to Bethesda Area

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich was joined today by Montgomery County Councilmember Andrew Friedson and Montgomery County Department of Police (MCPD) leadership to announce the expansion of the MCPD Drone as First Responder Program (DFR) to the Bethesda (2nd District) area. Since it launched in November 2023, more than 2,000 flights have taken place. The program now covers the 3rd District (downtown Silver Spring), 4th District (Wheaton/Glenmont), 6th District (Gaithersburg/Montgomery Village) and 2nd District (Bethesda). 

“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 County Executive Elrich. “This program is part of our ongoing efforts to leverage technology to make our operations more effective and it is a key innovation in public safety.”

Since the DFR launched, it has helped to enhance emergency response capabilities and provide critical support to law enforcement. Drones have been used to help apprehend suspects in shoplifting, robberies and assault incidents and are often the first to arrive on the scene. The average response time is under 90 seconds, and for many calls, drones reach the scene in under one minute.

“I am pleased to see the Drone as First Responder Program extended to Bethesda,” said County Council President Kate Stewart. “The DFR responds to calls for service within minutes, providing critical real-time information to police, enabling them to better assess situations. I am proud of the work we did when the program was first introduced to make sure that while we advance public safety through the use of technology, we also protect people’s privacy and civil liberties. The online dashboard and guardrails we put in place for how the drones can be used do just that.” 

In 2024, overall crime in the County dropped by seven percent, with the number of carjackings and homicides showing the biggest drops. In late 2024, a conviction was secured in a violent assault case based on evidence from a drone camera. 

“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. “I was proud to advocate for this funding in last year’s budget, to join the Raven Command Center for the official launch and look forward to watching this proven and effective program help keep our community safer moving forward.”

The DFR program uses unmanned aircraft systems (drones) to respond to 911 calls for service. The live video feed provided by the drone helps officers assess the situation and develop an appropriate response. Drones are not conducting surveillance and are only responding to 911 calls. Montgomery County is the largest police department in the United States to use the technology.

"This week's expansion is an exciting milestone in the Montgomery County Police's Drone as First Responder program," said MCPD Chief Marc Yamada. "This program has continued to meet the expectation placed by the community - to provide the best information to officers in the field so they can make the most informed and safest decisions as possible. We appreciate the support of our elected officials, as well as our community members, who have supported this cutting-edge endeavor."

The DFR data dashboard shows that drones are most often deployed in theft and robbery cases.  The second highest number of calls is for suspicious persons or vehicles. Drones have also been used to help locate crime suspects, individuals experiencing mental health crises and missing persons.

For more information on the program and to view data on deployments across the County, visit https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/pol/howdoI/drone-as-first-responder.html.

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Release ID: 25-105
Media Contact: Mary Anderson 301-529-7669
Categories: Public Safety