MEMORANDUM. Briefmg: Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Drones)

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1 PS COMMITTEE #3 May 2, 2018 Briefmg MEMORANDUM April 30, 2018 TO: FROM: SUBJECT: PURPOSE: Public Safety Committee Susan J. Farag, Legislative Analyst Briefmg: Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Drones) To be briefed on drone use by public safety agencies. Today the Committee will be briefed on the use of unmanned aircraft systems (U AS) by County public safety agencies. Those expected to brief the Committee include: Chief Scott Goldstein, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) Chief Tom Manger, Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) Dr. Earl Stoddard, Director, Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (OEMHS) Assistant Chief Gary Cooper, MCFRS Commander Doug Montgomery, 3D, MCPD Rob Green, Director of the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (DOCR) and Sheriff Darren Popkin may also be present to answer any questions the Committee has about the potential use of U AS within their respective public safety applications. BACKGROUND Many public safety agencies around the nation are beginning to use UAS to enhance their public safety efforts. Drones can function as both a cost-effective force multiplier as well as an enhanced safety measure for first responders. The Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS), the Police Department (MCPD), and the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (OEMHS) are in the process ofresearching the use of UAS, or drones, in their public safety applications. They have established a UAS Capability Development workgroup to discuss required equipment and all issues regarding the equipment and its use. DOCR has also researched the use ofuas for applications such as

2 perimeter security, but it has not yet moved forward in implementation. The Sheriffs Office was also asked if it has looked at potential UAS use, but to date, it has not. Some of the potential uses ofuas for MCFRS, MCPD, and OEMHS include: Evaluation of suspicious packages; Identification of hazardous materials; Situational awareness to better understand the nature, scale, and scope of an incident so that incident command staff can coordinate an effective response; Search and Rescue (Amber alerts, Silver alerts); Visual perspective to assist responders with crowd control, traffic incident management, special events, and perimeter security; Scene documentation, to document a crime scene, collision scene, or other major incident scene such as disaster management, incident response, or a large scale forensic scene investigation; and Tactical deployment during emergency situations such as active shooters SWAT raids, hostage and barricade situations. The use ofuas by public safety entities can function as a force multiplier, providing faster, more efficient, and safer uses. The use of UAS also permit departments to access environments that are too dangerous to place personnel. The chart on 4 provides an overview of different applications and projected costs, depending on whether aviation equipment is used. A manned helicopter or a UAS, for example, can significantly speed up different public safety operations, such as search and rescue or incident reconstruction. A search and rescue operation could take I 00 resource hours without any aviation support. The same operation could be performed in 5-10 minutes with either a manned helicopter or a UAS. The cost differential between a helicopter and several UAS is significant. A manned helicopter could cost up to $1 million to acquire and up to $600 per hour to operate. Comparatively, UAS units may cost up to $60,000 to acquire and $25/hour to operate. TYPES OF UAS Av AILABLE The agencies are still researching which platforms and deployment capabilities are needed to best assist with their work. Different types of missions will require different types of UAS. All UAS will be under 55 pounds. Within this weight limit, the larger UAS can carry multiple payloads such as thermal and visual cameras. Smaller UAS can be used to clear the interior of a structure. The stakeholders are working toward a pilot program that would use multiple platforms to determine which ones work best in specific applications. REGULATION The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the primary regulatory authority for UAS. The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of2012 requires the FAA to develop federal guidelines to safety integrate UAS into national airspace. The FAA requires law enforcement entities to 2

3 either obtain a Certification of Authorization (COA) or a Part 107 certification. The County is currently seeking Part 107 certification for the following reasons: Part 107 is sufficient and was established later than the COA (2017) and provides a standardized training and licensing process regulated by the FAA; Even if the County flies under a COA, the UAS pilots would still all be Part I 07 certified; A COA would require the County to develop its own program and standard for approval. The County could do this, using the Part 107 certification as a baseline. It would take months to do so; and The Part 107 certification already provides sufficient standards, certification, and rules. In 2015, the Maryland General Assembly enacted chapter 164, which preempts the field with respect to local county and municipality regulation ofuas. The law went into effect July I, 2015, and requires certain reporting requirements by the Department of Business and Economic Development, the Siate Police, and other entities. These entities are not required to report back to the General Assembly until December 2018 about issues such as local government regulation and privacy concerns. As such, local governments cannot regulate the use ofuas, but local law enforcement can still develop programs under federal authority. Currently, the following Maryland local governments have UAS programs, all adopted with Part 107 certification: Carroll County Sheriff; Maryland State Fire Marshal; Frederick County Fire Department; Seat Pleasant Police Department; Cecil County Sheriff; St. Mary's County Sheriff; and the Charles County Sheriff. COSTS UAS costs vary depending on size and capabilities. The platforms that the workgroup has researched so far range in price from $1,000 to $10,000 per unit. Maintenance and repair costs would be dependent on the types of platforms purchases. Funding: The County is working with the Maryland Emergency Response System (ERS), which is a federally grant-funded program administered by the State Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS). Federal Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) grant funds may be available through MD ERS to purchase required equipment. 3

4 DATA STORAGE The large and rapid influx of video and other digital material in public safety work has resulted in concerns about large data storage throughout several public safety departments. Video sources include in-car video from police cars, police and sheriff bodywom cameras (including data from various municipal departments), school bus cameras, Ride-On bus cameras, public parking garage cameras, and more. Data storage is currently being housed on multiple platforms, both within the County government and by vendors. As the storage needs continue to rapidly grow, the County is looking for more global long-term storage solutions. It is addressing this need through its ediscovery & Digital Evidence Management workgroup. The County hopes to address needs by FY20. The use ofuas could add to that data storage challenge. Executive staff indicates that digital media evidence generated by the UAS could be handled by MCPD's evidence.com storage system provided as part of its Axon bodyworn camera contract. MCPD currently has 40 terabytes of purchased unused space that is allocated for non-bodyworn camera evidence. The UAS program is expected to use only a small fraction of available space. STAFFING NEEDS MCFRS hired an outside training company to provide initial training and assist with the development of an operations manual. MCPD is considering doing the same thing. Both MCFRS and MCPD would use existing staff to implement a pilot program. There is no foreseen need for any additional staffing. DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNAL POLICIES GOVERNING THE USE OF UAS Since the County Council is currently precluded from regulating U AS use in the County, the departments' internal policy will govern their use and address concerns such as privacy, safety, training, and data storage and access. The Committee may wish to ask how the following issues will be addressed in departmental policy statements. Privacy: One community concern about the use ofuas is whether such use will erode privacy considerations for the public. Most of the relevant UAS applications would be done by the police department. MCPD advises that it will not operate the UAS in violation of applicable laws, including Constitutional provisions that govern reasonable expectation of privacy. When a search warrant is required by law, and no warrant exception exists, UAS flight will be prohibited unless a warrant is obtained. MCPD also advises that there are no plans to use UAS for surveillance unless there are exigent circumstances and authorized by the Police Chief. Safety: Some potential safety issues include equipment failures. Such as depleted batteries, hitting an object, etc. The FM requires waivers to fly over people, out of the line of sight, and at night. As a general practice, UAS will not be flown over crowds. The missions that possess a greater risk to accidental injury would be only flown in emergency situations. 4

5 Operational procedures were developed to minimize the impacts of mechanical failures. County departments will follow the FAA Part 107 rules, as well as industry best safety practices. UAS technology currently has crash avoidance capabilities. In higher-end UAS, there are optical cameras and light detection and ranging equipment (LID AR) that help prevent collisions. POTENTIAL DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. Is the County involved as a stakeholder in any of the State's examination of local regulation? If not, are there any concerns that any new State regulation will impact the County's proposed UAS program? 2. Will each department issue its own policy on UAS use, or will there be a County-wide policy? 3. What are some types ofuas applications that OEMHS may use? 4. How does each department envision assigning and storing UAS units? In which divisions? 5. How many staff will be trained and certified under Part 107 for each department? 6. Once funding is acquired, what is the timeframe for implementing the pilot program? 7. The FAS requires waivers to fly over people, out of the line of sight, and at night. Will any department be seeking any of these waivers? 8. What are the implications of federally flight restricted zones within or near the County? What restrictions are associated with the Montgomery County Airpark? F:\Farag\Packets\Public Safety\Unmanned Aircraft Systems Briefing May 2, 2018.docx 5

6 Legal: 1. My understanding is that the FM has exclusive authority over all airspace. In order for a local government entity to operate a UAS, it must get federal authorization in the form of a Certificate of Authorization (COA). If a 107 is sufficient for local government operation and no COA is needed, please explain why. JO pdf Summary.pdf Part 107 is sufficient and was established later than the COA (2017) - it provides us with a standardized training and licensing process regulated by the FAA. There are advantages and disadvantage to each program. We would be compliant with part 107 even if we pursued a COA. Before operating, we would need to declare what programming that we were flying under. Even if we fly under a COA, our UAS pilots would all be 107 certified. COA Advantage: If an emergency air restriction v1as enacted, we could use private assets to assist us and they would be covered under our COA. COA Disadvantage: We need to develop our own program and standards that met FAA approval. We could accomplish this by using 107 as the baseline. Establishing a COA could be a month process 107 Advantage: Standards, certification, rules and already established. 2. Other than FAA JO A, are there any other federal policies that govern the use of UAS by local governments? The FAA JO 7200 does not regulate what we are doing, CFR Part 107 regulates UAS operations. In particular, are there any federal policies or guidelines that govern privacy issues? No. 3. The Maryland General Assembly enacted Chapter 164 of 2015, which preempted the field with respect to local county and municipality regulation of UAS. This was effective July 1, 2015, but the law does not require the Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED), State Police, or other entities to report back to the General Assembly until December 2018 with respect to issues such as local government regulation and privacy issues. A. To your knowledge, are there any local governments currently using drones? If so, which ones? Carroll County Sherriff, Maryland State Fire Marshall, Frederick County Fire, Seat Pleasant Police Dept., Cecil County Sherriff, St Mary's County Sherriff, Charles County Sherriff, Loudoun County Sherriff.

7 Page 2 B. What type of federal authorization did they receive (if known)? Part 107 C. Do they have program policies in place that address things like authorized use, privacy concerns, etc. (again, if known)? Yes D. I cannot find any reports back to the General Assembly. In my experience, they are almost never provided early. Do you know whether any reports have been provided? No 4. Constitutional Considerations (4 th Amendment): A. What are the privacy implications of UAS use by government? There are no plans to use UAS as a surveillance device unless there are exigent circumstances and authorized by the police Chief. Are warrants required for MCPD use? Normal warrant requirements of the 4th amendment is not changed by the use of UAS. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits unreasonable search and seizure. It is explicitly recognized that the Fourth Amendment protects people, and not places. As such, people must have a reasonable expectation of privacy (RXP) in certain spaces such as in their homes, and in public spaces configured and provided to ensure privacy. A UAS will not be operated in violation of applicable law/regulations and/or the U.S. Constitution. When a search warrant is required by law, and no warrant exception exists, flight is prohibited unless a search warrant is obtained. B How would this apply to use by other departments? We will follow our operational guidelines.

8 Page 3 Proposed Use by Each Department: 5. Please provide a description of each department's proposed use of drones. While I know the workgroup consists of MCFRS, MCPD, and OEMHS, it is my understanding that DOCR has explored the use af drones as well. If this is the case, please provide input from DOCR for potential applications. Similarly, I don't know if it this applies to the Sheriffs Office, but if it does, please include input from them. MFCRS & MCPD: Suspicious package evaluations Hazardous Material Identification Situational Awareness: To assist decision makers (e.g., incident command staff; first responders; city, county, and state officials) in understanding the nature, scale, and scope of an incident~and for planning and coordinating an effective response. Search and Rescue: To assist critical missing person investigations (e.g. AMBER Alerts, Silver Alerts) and other search and rescue missions (e.g., body recovery). Visual Perspective: To provide an aerial visual perspective to assist responders in providing direction for crowd control, traffic incident management, special events, and temporary perimeter security. Scene Documentation: To document a crime scene, collision scene, or other major incident scene (e.g., disaster management, incident response, large-scale forensic scene investigation). Tactical Deployment: To support the tactical deployment of officers and equipment in emergency situations (e.g., active shooters, SWAT raids, hostage and barricade situations), support for large-scale tactical operations, and other temporary perimeter security situations. A. If applicable, please include information on how drone applications can increase first responder and other public safety worker safety in each department. UAS can be used in environments that are too dangerous to place personnel - faster, more efficient and safer.

9 Page 4 B. If applicable, please include information on how drone applications can function as a force multiplier in each department. Faster, more efficient and safer. $12.~0.000 N/A N/A $245-$600/hol.l' ~10 member crew $25/hour 3-5 member crew 100 resource hows ~10 minutes ~10minutes 3-5 resource hours 1-2 person-hours 1-2 person-hours *US Department of Justice UAS can fly at lower altitudes and carry multiple payloads. UAS can utilize thermal and visual cameras to search large areas. Sea rch grids can quickly be programmed to complete comprehensive search patterns. In the absence of a UAS, search managers need to deploy dozens of personnel to search a similar sized area in a much greater period oftime. The UAS can save on personnel and overtime costs. Note, we do not expect to need 3-5 individuals to operate a UAS, more like 1 to pilot (licensed) and another as an observer. The observer does not have to be licensed. 6. Please provide a description of the number of UAS, types, and capabilities (i.e. still pictures, video, audio, infrared, facial recognition software, license plate reader, etc.) of the units that you are initially seeking to purchase. Research and developmen t regarding required platforms and deployment still ongoing. Different missions would require different UAS. All UAS will be under 55 lbs. Larger UAS can carry multiple payloads (Thermal and visual cameras). Smaller UAS could be used to clear the interior of a structure. During the pilot phase of the program, the department s would seek to acquire multiple platforms to ascertain which platforms worked best for particular missions. 7. What are each department 's staffing and training needs to support the proposed applications? MCFRS hired an outside training company to provide initial training, assist with the developmen t of an operations manual, and conduct routine audits. MCPD is considering doing the same. MCFRS and MCPD would both use existing personnel to staff a pilot program.

10 Page 5 8. Have the departments made any decisions on privacy considerations? Are there proposed limitations that would maximize resident privacy? Normal UAS Ops would be limited to items outlined to question #5. Missions outside of the Scope of Work would require authorization from the Chief or designee. 9. What are the potential safety issues involved with flying UAS in public? Equipment failures. The FAA requires waivers to fly over people, out of line of sight, and at night. To obtain the waivers, users must meet FAA requirements. As a general practice, UAS will not be flown over crowds. Missions that possess a greater risk to accidental injury would only be flown in emergency situations. A What are typical failures? (i.e. batteries die, UAS hits object and falls, etc.). How can these incidents be minimized? Operational Procedures were developed to minimize impacts of mechanical failures. Departments will follow FAA Part 107 rules and industry best safety practices. Although not crash proof, modern UAS technology uses crash avoidance technology to override human error. Optical cameras and Light Detection and Ranging equipment (LIDAR) are utilized on higher end UAS to prevent collisions. B. Are there any liability/coverage issues associated with use? Fiscal Considerations: We will work with the Division of Risk Management to ensure coverage and mitigate issues. 10. What are the projected costs of each unit? TBD, depending upon platform(s). Maryland Emergency Response System (MD ERS) has informed us that they have committed to funding the project for the first two years. Platforms researched thus far range in price from $1,000 to 10,000 per unit. 11. What maintenance and repair costs are associated with each unit? TBD dependent upon platforms purchased. 12. What other ongoing costs are associated with each unit? How often must they be replaced? TBD dependent upon platforms purchased airworthiness.

11 Page What grant funding have you sought, plan to seek, and/or have acquired? MD ERS at this time. Plan to research additional grant funding options. 14. Will departments need additional staff? No. Current staffing will be used. 15. What type of data storage is required? Digital. Digital Media Evidence (DME) can be handled by the departments Evidence.com system. Currently, the Department has 40TB of purchased unused space allocated for non-body Worn Camera System (BWCS) evidence. The UAS program will only utilize a small fraction of available space. Retention periods from BWCS can be applied to the UAS evidence. MCFRS is exploring the possibility of also utilizing the Evidence.corn system. A. Will that likely be provided by the vendor, or will the County handle it onsite? County B. What would a typical data retention policy look like? TBD. County Police Retention Policy on BWCS could be applied to UAS. C. Will this be a significant cost driver of the entire program, similar to what MCPD has experienced with body worn cameras and in car video? No.

STOCKTON POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDER UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM SUBJECT. DATE: November 14, 2017 NO: V-6

STOCKTON POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDER UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM SUBJECT DATE: November 14, 2017 NO: FROM: CHIEF ERIC JONES TO: ALL PERSONNEL INDEX: UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM I. PURPOSE The purpose of