Village Board Approves $18K Drone For Deerfield Police Department

DEERFIELD, IL — The police department has a new partner to help fight crime with Monday night's approval by the Deerfield Village Board to purchase an Unmanned Aircraft System, better known as a drone. Following the bids of two companies, a contract was awarded to Unmanned Vehicle Technologies, with the cost of the drone not exceeding $18,752.05.

"Even though we have two people assigned to this [drone program], that drone can cover more ground than four officers could on foot," Deerfield Police Chief John Sliozis told the board prior to the unanimous vote.

The cost of the drone will be reimbursed to the Village from the police department's seizure funds.

The police department began researching drones in August of last year, with a goal of implementing a program this year. After meeting with other local police departments currently using drones to assist with police work, Deerfield selected the Matrice 30T model.

Police said the state-of-the-art drone, released in 2021, offers a variety of features "specifically tailored to the needs of law enforcement and public safety organizations." The drone includes a "powerful" camera, which enables operators to capture high-resolution images and videos from up to 30 miles away. The drone is also suitable for a range of applications, such as search and rescue, surveillance, and evidence gathering, according to police.

The priorities established for the drone program would include:

• Provide cutting-edge traffic collision and crime-scene evidence documentation methods.
• Minimize risk to the public and officers by providing additional options to avoid violent encounters and utilize de-escalation tactics.
• Aid in the search and rescue of missing persons.
• Enhance response to bomb squad incidents, fire support, hazardous materials incidents, and other critical incidents in which it would reduce the risk to personnel entering a hazardous environment.
• Aid in assessing a natural disaster or a hazardous material situation.

"The use of a drone has been proven time and time again to be a very useful resource for law enforcement, first responders entering emergency service operations," Sliozis said.

Another vendor, DSLR Pros, also presented the police department with a quote for the Matrice 30T drone, but at a more expensive cost of $21,320.

Sliozis said the only future cost for maintaining the drone would be the replacement of batteries.