Montgomery County police say drone helps shorten response times, make arrests in Silver Spring

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. ( DC News Now ) — The Montgomery County Department of Police (MCPD) has a program that officers say has been greatly effective since it first launched last November.

MCPD 3 ^rd District Commander Jason Cokinos said the average response time for the Drone as First Responder program is 60 seconds.

Cokinos said the Raven One drone has been especially instrumental in preventing shoplifting in Downtown Silver Spring.

“We’re seeing basically professional shoplifting rings,” Cokinos said. “They’re taking trash bags full of items.”

Repeat shoplifters recently stole hundreds of dollars in merchandise from a CVS location. The drone tracked the suspects as they attempted to escape before officers pulled them over and made arrests.

“In our operations room, there are officers that are listening to 911 calls as they come in live. They can send that drone right away,” Cokinos said.

Cokinos says Raven One is often able to get to a scene while the crime is still in progress. That was the case last Friday when three teens assaulted and robbed another teen.

“The witness — our community member that called 911 — we sent the drone right away. So, the drone got there within 30 seconds and actually captured the suspects running away,” he said.

The drone followed the suspects as they ran and then communicated their location to patrol officers, who came in and made the arrests.

“What we like to do is we’ll follow individuals that have committed a crime with the drone, and we’ll find the safest place to take them into custody,” Cokinos said.

Cokinos said the Drone as First Responder program has responded to over 1,200 calls and has assisted officers in getting more than 300 suspects in custody. The program will be expanding to Gaithersburg and Bethesda in the coming weeks.

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