The Lakewood Police Department today held an official launch of its new Drone as a First Responder (DFR) program, marking a significant step toward enhancing public safety through rapid aerial response and real-time situational awareness.
The department unveiled the initiative during a live demonstration held behind police headquarters. Township officials, law enforcement partners, and community members attended the event, which showcased the department’s cutting-edge unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in action.
The DFR program allows drones to be dispatched immediately following a 911 call, providing live video feeds to officers en route. This technology gives officers a real-time view of a scene before arriving, improving response times and enabling more informed decision-making. Drones can be used to assess threats, track suspects, monitor ongoing incidents, and support overall situational awareness.
“This program represents a major step forward in how we protect our community,” said Police Chief Gregory H. Meyer. “By leveraging drone technology, we’re able to get eyes on a situation within minutes—often before our officers even arrive. It’s about safety, efficiency, and giving our officers every tool possible to make sound decisions.”
The DFR initiative was developed in collaboration with Lakewood’s Information Technology Department, which worked to integrate the drone systems with existing emergency response platforms.
“This isn’t just a drone flying overhead,” said Dan Brower, Lakewood’s IT Director. “It’s a fully connected part of our emergency infrastructure. The live-streaming capabilities, combined with secure data integration, give our officers and dispatchers critical information faster than ever before.”
The Lakewood Police Department emphasized that the program complies with all FAA regulations and includes a comprehensive privacy policy to ensure footage and data are used solely for official law enforcement purposes. The department also plans a gradual expansion of the program in the coming months, prioritizing transparency and community engagement.
The soft launch signals the beginning of what officials hope will be a transformative addition to Lakewood’s public safety toolkit.
Its all fun and games until they use it to snoop on everyone’s private property we see to many people in your pool, you have an illegal playgroup, your making an illegal fire etc etc etc.. you all know its guaranteed to be in the near future right? yea but their protecting and serving so everything is ok
welcome to police state!! scary times
It always starts for the safety of the community…
in a few years TLS be posting letters, maybe Lakewood police should use the drones to monitor traffic and write out tickets.
i am fuming, this has got to be the stupidest thing the Lakewood establishment has done i will never vote for the vaad endorsed again.
You would think Lakewood has one of the highest crime rates in NJ when in fact there is virtually zero violent crime.
Love it ! very futuristic.
Although I understand the privacy concerns, and they should be addressed directly by PD .
I hold our Police department in very high regard and I trust that this advancement will be used only to keep us safer and enhance the security of our town.
I guess it’s cheaper than a police helicopter.
Next we’ll use a police unmanned Tesla.