The Honolulu Police Department is using drones as first responders to 911 calls for police service and requests for help in two patrol districts as part of a push to use technology to expand public safety.
HPD started the Drone as First Responder pilot program on Wednesday using unmanned aerial systems in partnership with the state Department of Law Enforcement to “strengthen emergency response and public safety,” police officials said in a statement.
The program will operate from HPD’s Alapai Headquarters and serve District 1 — downtown, Chinatown, Nuuanu, Makiki, Ala Moana and Kakaako — and in District 5, which covers Kalihi, Iwilei, Kapalama, Alewa, Moanalua and Salt Lake.
The Chula Vista (Calif.) Police Department was the first in the country to use the program in 2019. Since then, over 1,000 public safety agencies have applied for and received Federal Aviation Administration Part 91 waivers required to operate unmanned aircraft systems, “beyond visual line of sight for first-response purposes,” according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Atlas of Surveillance.
The FAA waivers also permit law enforcement agencies to eventually automate drone deployments from launchpads using artificial intelligence. From April 2025 through February, the FAA issued more Part 91 waivers to law enforcement agencies than in the previous seven years combined.
Drones are “well-established” at law enforcement agencies across the country and improve service by reducing 911 call response times, “improving the chances of locating and apprehending” suspects, enhancing officer safety and increasing situational awareness so officers can make better-informed decisions in protecting the public, HPD officials said. The U.S. Department of Justice routinely uses drones in Hawaii.
HPD said its program uses drones to respond to certain 911 calls ahead of officers on the ground. During preliminary testing, HPD’s drones responded to incidents in Honolulu in as little as 30 seconds, police said.
“Our responsibility is to provide the highest level of service and safety to our community,” HPD Chief David Lazar said in a statement. “As technology evolves, we have a responsibility to thoughtfully embrace innovations that improve public safety. Drone technology is one of those tools, and we’re grateful that our partnership with the Department of Law Enforcement will make that possible.”
The drones are part of Lazar’s desire to build up a real-time investigations center that would incorporate drones, automated license plate readers, public safety cameras and other modern policing technologies. The department plans to buy three drones as part of its initial investment in the program.
HPD will deploy drones only in response to 911 calls from the public or calls for assistance from other HPD personnel.
“Drones will not be used for random surveillance, intelligence gathering, or monitoring without a defined mission,” HPD said in a statement.
The American Civil Liberties Union opposes police drone use nationally.
Salmah Y. Rizvi, executive director of the ACLU of Hawaii, said that opposition includes HPD’s Drone as First Responder program.
Over 1,400 police departments already have deployed drones, and as ACLU national has documented, that expansion has “consistently outpaced the legal safeguards needed to protect our communities,” Rizvi said.
“Facial recognition, which can be integrated with drone systems, has a record of misidentifying Black, brown, and Asian faces at dramatically higher rates than white faces. The communities HPD is targeting first (Kalihi, Chinatown, Kakaako) are disproportionately communities of color,” she said. “Deploying aerial surveillance over them without a warrant requirement, independent oversight, or binding data retention limits is not pono.”
Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the ACLU’s national office, published a memo in 2023 titled “Eye-in-the-Sky Policing Needs Strict Limits,” in which the group said, “A world where flying robotic police cameras constantly crisscross our skies is one we have never seen before.”
”While some departments have long used fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters for some aerial surveillance, drones are far cheaper and can therefore be used by many more departments and in much greater numbers,” Stanley wrote. “It’s important that we don’t sleepwalk into a world of widespread aerial surveillance, that communities think very carefully about whether they want drone surveillance, and, if they decide to permit some operations, put in place guardrails that will prevent those operations from expanding.”
In a statement, HPD noted that “protecting privacy, maintaining transparency and building community trust” are key components of the drone program. “Drone operations will be governed by department policy and conducted in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws,” HPD said.
HPD said officers have presented at neighborhood board meetings and met with community members to explain the program, answer questions and listen to feedback.
HPD also launched a public information webpage, HonoluluPD.org/DFR, that includes information about the program, its DFR policy, frequently asked questions, and a community feedback email, HPDDFR@Honolulu.gov.
“As we begin this exciting new program, transparency will remain at the core of everything we do,” Lazar said. “We want the community to understand how these drones are being used, why they’re being used, and the safeguards that are in place. We encourage everyone to learn more about the program and share their questions, feedback, and suggestions.”
The State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a statement that one of the most dangerous jobs police officers are asked to do is to respond to situations without any real-time information.
“Using drones as first responders will make our officers and the public safer. Because we’re down over 460 officers, it’s critical that we balance overall neighborhood protection with 911 calls. This program will provide rapid emergency response and help HPD ensure it sends the right number of officers to 911 calls while continuing to provide police protection to the rest of the island,” SHOPO President Don Faumuin said. “We are encouraged that Chief Lazar is taking swift action on investing in technology to make our jobs and the community safer. He promised he would modernize HPD if he was hired. We’re pleased to see that with Chief Lazar, a promise made is a promise kept.”
Drone incidents
HPD said the kinds of incidents that may qualify for drone deployment include crimes in progress or high-priority calls requiring immediate situational awareness.
Those would be search-and-rescue operations; hazardous material incidents or disaster-related assessments; major traffic collisions or roadway hazard evaluation; crowd management or large-scale public events; high-risk tactical incidents like barricaded subjects, hostage situations and active shooters; and requests from patrol units for drone assistance.
“Drones are an additional public safety tool and do not replace officers. They provide valuable information before officers arrive but do not replace the judgment, training, or responsibilities of sworn police officers,” says a statement on HPD’s drone policy page.
During the first phase of DFR, FAA-certified HPD pilots will operate Skydio X10 and Skydio R10 drones provided by the DLE.
HPD and DLE contend that drones buy officers valuable time and provide critical information about the situation. Drones would be able to let officers know how many people are involved, potential hazards, and whether more officers or specialized resources are needed before anyone arrives on the scene.
“The camera of a deployed drone can immediately determine if the person has a weapon while also capturing the person’s physical description and specific location in live-mode, enabling responding officers to make effective decisions before arriving on scene. Drones as the first responder helps de-escalate extremely dangerous situations and leads to the faster apprehension of suspects,” Hawaii Director of Law Enforcement Mike Lambert said in a statement.
Police say they hope drones will aid officers and supervisors to plan for the appropriate personnel and resources needed for an incident before they arrive. A piloted drone may quickly determine that a reported incident is over and police are no longer needed, leaving officers free to respond to other calls for service, officials say.
HPD said it plans to evaluate the program, community feedback and public safety needs before determining whether to use drones islandwide.
