The Cochise Sheriff’s Department is adding a “cutting edge” drone pilot program to their robust set of border enforcement tools.
The high-tech drone, which will launch in September, has been given to the county at no cost in hopes of curbing illegal border crossing, drug and people smugglers and help those in peril as they cross into Arizona from Mexico.
The drone will also help out surrounding counties, which can bolster their cases with this new technology. Whether it’s a missing persons case or a suspect on the run, the drone will be able to search places a helicopter can’t.
“It’s another tool in our arsenal that we need to keep us knowing what’s going on in the criminal world,” said Carol Capas, a spokeswoman for the Cochise Sheriff’s Department. “We’re looking forward to things we can do to make citizen life better and we’re committed to having the best technology.”
Capas said the technology will help the department be more efficient.
After investigating several companies to bring on board, the department chose a company called Draganfly that promises to help with mission-critical operations in harsh and remote terrain.
Under this new pilot program, the department will deploy several types of drones, including fixed-wing models for extended border surveillance, AI-enhanced quadcopters and thermal imaging units to assist in search-and-rescue efforts as well as night operations, the department has previously said.
Draganfly CEO Cameron Chelle said he is honored to be working with Cochise County and helping them find the technology that works best for the department. Since Cochise will be part of a pilot program, Draganfly has covered the cost of the drone.
Chelle said Cochise already has “some of the best of American law enforcement. (They are) innovation-focused, community-minded, and mission ready … (They) set a gold standard for how drone technology should be used to secure national borders.”
The move to participate in the Draganfly beta program aligns with President Donald Trump’s executive order, “Unleashing American Drone Dominance,” aimed at reasserting America’s leadership in unmanned aerial systems for security and defense.
Last month, Sheriff Mark Dannels was appointed to President Trump’s Homeland Security Advisory Council.
