CINCINNATI — The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office is retiring two helicopters and expanding its drone program to respond to calls for missing people, fleeing suspects, surveillance and security.
Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey described the helicopters as “flying dinosaurs” at a meeting with Hamilton County Commissioners last week.
“Drones are the future. They are very easy to use, and they are not nearly as expensive as a helicopter,” McGuffey said. “We spend $3 million every year on our helicopter program … That’s not even counting the cost of buying the actual helicopters which we did some years ago.”
McGuffey is asking the county for a near $15 million increase to her budget in 2023 to hire six new employees, update equipment such as dashboard cameras, improve data technology and deal with the rising cost of fuel and vehicle replacement.
But the expanded drone program should pay for itself, she told Commissioner Denise Driehaus, who asked about the cost at last week’s meeting.
“We are planning on taking that money and using it in other ways that are more productive than the helicopters,” McGuffey said.
The sheriff’s pilot is leaving for a job in the private sector at the end of September, and afterward the two helicopters will likely be sold.
Meanwhile McGuffey would like to buy eight new drones next year, bringing the department’s total to 15. The drones, which cost $20,000 apiece, are operated by deputies who can store them in the trunks of their patrol cars to expedite their response times to urgent calls such as for a missing child.
“We can have a deputy close to that location … over there within five minutes, get in the trunk of their car, pull out the drone, send the drone up with infrared (cameras), with photographic capability, and find that child,” McGuffey said. “The immediacy of that situation can’t be understated.”
The commissioners seemed to embrace the idea of the drones.
“I do appreciate that you’re looking futuristically into drones, which is not the future, it is now,” Commissioner Alicia Reece said. “So, I’m glad to see that is part of your process in terms of where you want to direct resources.”
The county administration will release next year’s proposed budget in a few weeks. And more discussion over what the commissioners will and won’t pay for at the sheriff’s department, is all but guaranteed.
Meanwhile, sheriff’s deputies gave WCPO a demonstration on Monday of what their drones can be used for.
The drones can fly as high as 400 feet, making them silent and practically invisible. Deputies say they are perfect for covert surveillance, hostage situations, security and to monitor large crowds at public events. They flew two drones over the Harvest Home Parade three weeks ago in Cheviot to provide quiet security.
“The great thing about this newer technology in drones is they have cameras built into them and they are more powerful than they’ve ever been,” said Capt. James Schoonover, who noted that infrared cameras show body heat so deputies can track missing people or fleeing suspects in darkness or wooded areas.
“That could be a critical missing person, that could be someone who fled the scene of a felony traffic stop,” Schoonover said.
Cincinnati police made their first arrest using a drone in September 2021. When police could not find the suspect on the ground, they sent a drone up six stories and found the suspect on an Over-the-Rhine rooftop.
Deputies will use drones for security at the courthouse and to monitor the perimeter outside of the jail, and for accident reconstruction and measuring. They can create 3D images of accident scenes using aerial photos and can send those images directly to prosecutors.
Cpl. Matthew McGourty said it’s a big change from how deputies once analyzed crash scenes.
“How we used to measure scenes — was with a tape measure and a rolling measuring wheel,”McGourty said.
