Beat cops will get some aerial help soon.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters may have more eyes in the sky funded by the state of Florida soon.
The House Justice Budget Subcommittee is agreeing to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice’s $610,000 allotment to fund the Drone First Responder Program.
The funding was prioritized this Session by Sen. Clay Yarborough and House Speaker Pro Tempore Wyman Duggan.
The money, should it make it to the final budget ratified by Gov. Ron DeSantis, will allow for the development of this program, which is intended to augment the efforts of officers on the ground who will deploy the devices.
Drones are expected to help with response times, to make efforts more efficient, and to keep police safer as they handle what the House appropriations request calls “improbable situations.”
The $610,000 is expected to cover one fixed-wing mapping drone with required accessories, 10 drone inverters, 10 external drones for reconnaissance, 25 interior drones to assess building safety, batteries and maintenance.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office will be required to document the program’s efficacy should it be funded. Given the close relationship between DeSantis and Waters, whom the Governor endorsed in a 2022 Special Election, it should be an easy sell for the executive branch.