Drone (UAS) in Security Use

A drone, or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), can fly a preset or manually controlled route over a property to give an aerial view for large-site patrols, incident assessment, or checking hard-to-reach areas like a rooftop or a large parking structure roof deck. Operators generally must hold an FAA Part 107 remote pilot certificate to fly commercially, including for security purposes.

On a real Sacramento-area property, drones are most useful for large sites — expansive commercial campuses, large construction projects, or sprawling HOA common areas — where covering the same ground on foot or by vehicle would take much longer. Battery flight time typically limits a single flight to well under an hour, and wind, rain, and cold reduce both flight time and stability.

Airspace restrictions near airports, required visual-line-of-sight operation for most standard operators, and local privacy expectations from residents who may object to being filmed from above are all real constraints; drone use should be governed by a written policy addressing when and where flights occur. Night flights, flights over people, and beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations require additional FAA waivers.

In a patrol program, a drone flight is typically a supplemental tool a supervisor or specially trained officer deploys for a specific need — checking a large lot after an alarm, assessing storm damage, or documenting a large area for an incident report — rather than a routine part of every officer's shift.