LAPD chief describes how police have been using drones as first responders

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Drones are often used to entertain crowds during holiday celebrations. But as part of a pilot program that began nearly a year ago, the Los Angeles Police Department has been dispatching drones as first responders to emergency calls.

The drones can travel as fast as 42 miles per hour.

"Of the calls they're dispatched to, 73% of the time they get there before the patrol units are able to get there," LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said in an interview. "They have the ability to go around things that are in their way. So it's safe"

The drones hover over crime scenes and crash sites, serving as eyes in the sky, giving the LAPD key information before patrol officers arrive.

"So if there are suspects there, do they have weapons?" McDonnell said. "How many are there? Are they loading up to flee? If they are, what does the car look like? What's the plate?"

Drones recently helping officers find a missing 5-year-old boy.

"We sent up two drones to the area to be able to get there, as well as a number of patrol units, and within five minutes the drones were able to locate that boy walking on his own," the police chief said.

McDonnell addressed concerns that some may have about drones flying over their homes. He said the department is being careful about maintaining the public's right to privacy.

"We don't record until they get over the call," McDonnell said. "When they leave the call to come back, the camera is turned off. So we're not looking at anything and from the call."

Members of the public can log onto the LAPD's website if a drone is dispatched to an area. It allows visitors to track the route the drone took to get there, when it was recording and when the camera was turned off.

The pilot program is nearly over, and the LAPD expects to make the drones a full-time unit.