The Riverside Police Department attributed the increase in citations for illegal fireworks to the deployment of drones starting in 2025. Los Angeles Times. The newspaper also cited other California cities, such as Downey, Artesia, Brea, San Bernardino, Stanton, Chino, Hemet and San Jose, as deploying drones during the Fourth of July holiday.
California cities may be the most aggressive so far in using drones to hunt down illegal fireworks, but there are examples elsewhere. This year, the Lewisville Police Department in Texas shared the footage CBS News On July 4th, it reported its drone responding to 19 fireworks incidents, and reported several incidents where people doing fireworks decided to stop and clear the drone after it arrived.
So does the Renton, Washington Police Department released the drone video since this past Fourth of July weekend and has deployed drones around Seattle for the past three years to detect people setting off illegal fireworks. According to MyNorthwest.
All of this fits into a broader trend of drone-as-first-responder programs growing in the United States, as tech companies turn to law enforcement on drones equipped with a variety of surveillance capabilities. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, more than 1,800 police departments and sheriff’s departments in the United States have operated drones. Observational Atlas database. Such drones should “require clear policies regarding storage, inspection and use, including non-recording of cameras.” According to Beryl LiptonSenior researcher of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
By the way, some US communities have used drones for very different purposes during America’s 250th anniversary — in addition to or even to replace official firework displays with swarms of drones laying coordinated and colorful shows in the sky. Such displays are cleaner and quieter than fireworks, and at the same time significantly reduce the risk of starting fires in dry summer conditions.
