When a 911 call comes in, every second counts. Soon, Hamilton police will have a new tool that can get eyes on a scene before a single officer arrives.The Hamilton Police Department is one of nine agencies across Ohio selected f or the nation's first statewide drone first responder pilot program. The $2.5 million initiative is led and funded by the Ohio Department of Transportation and its DriveOhio division, with program management support from SkyfireAI.Participating agencies pay nothing. Hamilton police's only obligations are providing a place to operate from, the staff to run it and handling maintenance if something breaks down.By June, Hamilton police will add two new drone first responder, or DFR, drones to their fleet capable of launching from a central command point and flying anywhere in the city, which spans a roughly 21-mile radius. Assistant Chief Brian Robinson said the drones can reach a scene in 90 to 100 seconds, compared to the 10 to 15 minutes it can take a patrol vehicle to work through city traffic to get from one side of town to the other."This will act as a force multiplier. This will lead to, throughout the state, an integrated network that will be designed for first responders, increase efficiency and allow us to do more with our existing resources," Robinson said.The technology is known as drone-in-a-box. Instead of an officer pulling over, unpacking a drone from a cruiser and manually flying it to a scene, these drones live in a permanent docking station Sgt. Matthew Fishwick described one model as looking like a futuristic gas grill with a lid that opens and can be launched remotely from a desktop computer. A pilot selects a call from the same dispatch interface used in patrol cruisers, hits launch and the drone is in the air.WATCH: Hamilton police join Ohio's first statewide drone responder pilot program Police are getting drones that beat officers to the scene. Here's how.From there, it streams live video back to headquarters, where lieutenants and sergeants can monitor the feed in real time. Police said officers in the field get that same information while they're still en route, giving them a chance to size up a situation and start forming a plan before they ever step out of their cruiser.Breanna Badanes, a spokesperson for DriveOhio, said that capability is exactly what makes this technology different from a standard drone."First responders really need the ability to fly beyond their visual line of sight, so they have to be able to fly it remotely. That requires a drone-in-the-box system that can independently launch and then they can fly it remotely to the scene to gather that information," Badanes said.The department's current drones use a radio controller with a range roughly comparable to a consumer walkie-talkie. The new DFR drones run on cell phone technology, meaning the only real limit is battery life enough to reach any corner of the city.Fishwick, who helped put together Hamilton's application for the program, said the difference in how officers can respond will be significant."If it's a critical situation, like an assault or attack, or, who knows what, somebody on a bridge, you know, you just don't know, we'll get eyes on that problem immediately, and we'll start feeding information to our officers immediately, as opposed to an officer getting there, you know, trying to figure out, you know, 'Drone, or do I talk or do something?'" Fishwick said.Each drone can stay in the air for roughly 40 minutes, with a recharge time about equal to its flight time. If one device runs low on battery mid-call, the second can launch and pick up where the first left off, keeping continuous coverage over a scene, Fishwick said.The department is looking at the police station as the most likely home base, given its central location. Fishwick said a one-mile radius from a central launch point covers roughly 18 square miles and Hamilton spans 21 square miles total, making it a near-perfect fit.The drones will be equipped with spotlights and speakers. Some models can also drop medical supplies and at least one vendor offers a life vest attachment that inflates on contact with water. Attachments can be swapped depending on the call, though Fishwick said the department will lean on the spotlight capability for most situations, given the return it provides.The program isn't just about high-stakes emergencies, either. Fishwick said the department plans to model its approach on Cincinnati's DFR operation, which it toured before applying, and send drones out on any call where aerial information could help including routine calls like debris in a road. If the drone gets there and the problem is already gone, officers can be redirected to something more pressing."It's not going to replace our officers," Fishwick said. "It's not going to replace anything we currently have. It's going to be in addition to."Every flight will be logged, tied to its dispatch call, and the video will be automatically downloaded and associated with that record when the drone lands.The Butler County agency won't be the first in the Tri-State to have a DFR program. Cincinnati police launched their own in July 2025, though it was not funded through the new statewide grant program.Drones are not new to Hamilton police. The department currently has three: two full-size models and a smaller trainer unit. Like the incoming DFR units, the existing drones film in 4K and have spotlight and infrared capability. But they don't have speakers, they're limited in range and they have to be deployed and controlled by an officer on scene which means that officer has to stop responding to the emergency in order to fly the drone.The existing drones aren't going anywhere. Fishwick said they'll still be useful for mutual aid calls and situations where a cruiser-based drone makes more sense, particularly beyond the DFR's effective range.Hamilton police currently have 5 FAA Part 107-licensed pilots and plan to grow that number. Fishwick said the department is also in the process of obtaining FAA waivers to operate beyond visual line of sight, and has already been in talks with Butler County dispatch and the Butler County Sheriff's Office about integrating their systems with the new program. Some vendor platforms even offer an option where keywords entered during a 911 call could automatically trigger a drone launch before the call is fully processed something Fishwick said the department hasn't ruled out down the road."If you're a law-abiding citizen, it's going to be great. If you're a criminal, it's gonna be horrible news, because you're not going to get away with anything," Fishwick said.The program was created under Ohio House Bill 96 and uses state-approved, NDAA-compliant drone systems. DriveOhio accepted applications from police, fire and EMS agencies at the end of last year. Each participating agency receives one to two systems, depending on its size and needs.Robinson was clear that the program comes with firm boundaries. There will be no persistent monitoring, no general surveillance of the public and no facial recognition. The drones will only go up in response to active 911 calls.Camera gimbals will be pointed at the horizon or slightly downward during transit, not toward residential areas, Fishwick said. All operations will comply with FAA, state and local regulations and policies will be made publicly available.Badanes said what makes Ohio's effort stand out is the decision to build it from the state level rather than leaving each agency to figure it out on its own."This is the first time we've executed it from a state level, where we can standardize the equipment, standardize the training and really provide that broad support to make it successful in all different sizes of communities," Badanes said.The nine selected agencies reflect that range, spanning urban centers, suburban communities and rural jurisdictions across the state. Many have already committed to sharing drone resources with neighboring agencies. The full list includes: City of Springfield Police/Fire/EMS Athens Police Department Lima Police Department Toledo Police Department Violet Township Fire/EMS Austintown Fire Department City of Hamilton Police/Fire/EMS Amherst Police Department Kelleys Island Fire/EMSOperations are expected to begin in the June-July timeframe and run for approximately a year, with agencies collecting data on missions flown and other metrics for a final program report. Badanes said she hopes the tools stick around well beyond that window.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less