Fairfax County Police Department News

Fairfax, VA – The Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) has used drones for small jobs since 2019, but in the past year, FCPD’s drone program has expanded to assist the department’s helicopter program with a lot more detailed work.

In May 2019, the Fairfax County Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) program, more commonly known as its drone program, was approved to be used by the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department, Department of Emergency Management (DEMS), Fairfax County Police Department, and the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office. Since then, their place in FCPD’s public safety operations has been an invaluable tool for FCPD.

Aerial footage provides many benefits to the FCPD, whether it is to assist with developing public safety situations or to assist crime scene or crash reconstruction detectives with mapping and imaging. The unmanned aircraft system provides first responders with high-quality imagery, data, and geospatial solutions including Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing (RS), and Global Positioning Systems (GPS).

“As technology continues to improve, FCPD is embracing and leveraging it to continue our mission in law enforcement and to help the community. Our drones work together with our helicopter, serving very different but very important roles. More than once, both the helicopter and drone have been simultaneously deployed to cover critical incidents like the recent Route-1 barricade and Lorton fire in a combined effort. We continue to lead the region in these programs for our county.”

-Second Lieutenant Brad Woehrlen, FCPD Drone Team

A great example of our drone utilization was in this week’s armed barricade incident in Fair Oaks. Officers and members of our Crisis Negotiation Team were on the scene negotiating with an armed man who barricaded himself inside his home. Our drone provided officers, negotiators, and our Co-Responder team with invaluable eyes on the situation. The drone’s continuous view, along with our officer’s ability to create time and space in this situation, were factors that allowed for a peaceful resolution to this tense situation.

This is one of many examples of how our drones provide an aerial perspective for officers during these elevated and potentially dangerous incidents in our community.

FCPD’s drones are not weaponized and are equipped with high-resolution cameras and recording devices. FCPD’s drone pilots are highly trained and must possess the FAA Part 107 sUAS certificate before consideration to be an operational pilot for the program. Their knowledge and training are indispensable as Fairfax County lies within some of the most restricted airspace in the United States, just a quick drive to our nation’s Capital. The program is taking off by leaps and bounds as we strengthen and expand upon this valuable program. Currently, there are 39 officers trained to pilot our UAS.   

The expansion of our drone unit and the means to have rapid deployment, tactical support, and real-time information for officers during critical incidents is just one of the many ways we’re keeping Fairfax County safe. For more information about the County’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems program, visit here.

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