News Releases

Montgomery County Police Respond to Drone Activity Reports

For Immediate Release: Thursday, December 19, 2024

Gaithersburg, MD - The Montgomery County Department of Police is aware of reports of suspicious activity involving Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), commonly known as drones, in Maryland and other states.

The department is not currently investigating any of these reports in the county.  However, as a reminder, MCPD does have an active UAS program, where drones are used for operational purposes. 

MCPD currently operates Drone as First Responder (DFR) from three sites:  Downtown Silver Spring, Downtown Wheaton Glenmont, and in Gaithersburg.  Residents may notice our drones overhead in these locations. 

Additionally, the department does operate drones on certain calls for service such as missing persons calls.  These drones come in a variety of sizes but will be operating near a noticeable police presence on the ground.

A large portion of Montgomery County lies within the Flight Restricted Zone, or FRZ, a 15-mile radius originating in Washington, DC.  The FRZ is roughly 5-10 miles wider than the Capital Beltway.  Residents should see very few UAS flights in that area but may still see fixed wing and rotary (helicopter) flights in that area.

For more information on the departments DFR program, please visit: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/pol/howdoI/drone-as-first-responder.html.   

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Release ID: 24-606
Media Contact: S.D. Goff 
Categories: press-releases