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- cross-posted to:
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A California police department’s drone program helped officers track down and arrest a suspected repeat shoplifter who attempted to flee on a stolen bicycle Tuesday morning and might otherwise have gotten away, officials said.
The incident happed at a Walmart in Clovis, California, where police were called just after 8 a.m. for a known shoplifting suspect. The department’s “Drone First Responder” (DFR) program proved crucial in the arrest, officials said.
“The suspect at Walmart stole a bicycle from inside the store, which the staff thought he would, and he took off on that bike,” Clovis Police Public Information Officer Ty Wood told ABC News Fresno station.
The suspect, identified by police as 19-year-old Sean Baker, was tracked by the drone as he crossed a nearby street. He now faces charges including shoplifting, possession of burglary tools and obstructing an officer, according to police.
The police spokesperson told ABC News that the department’s DFR program currently operates two drones, which can cover more than 90% of community. The department has already ordered a third drone for next year, the spokesperson said.
“We realize that drones are not going to be taking the place of a law enforcement helicopter, but with a city our size, we can’t afford a helicopter. These drone first responders are definitely a game changer,” the spokesperson told ABC News.
The drones, which typically fly at 200 feet, are equipped with advanced camera systems.
“These cameras are fantastic,” Wood told ABC30. “We have the ability to see license plates and get physical descriptions of suspects.”
A key advantage of the program is the drones’ ability to arrive at scenes before officers. The spokesperson said responding officers can view live drone footage from their patrol car computers while en route to calls.
The suspect “went behind other retail businesses and he would have been lost if it weren’t for the drone,” Wood told ABC30.
The department, which serves a community of over 129,000 residents, launched its drone program in 2020, according to the spokesperson. The initiative has since become an important part of the department’s Real Time Information Center (RTIC), which combines various surveillance systems used for public safety.
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What a massive waste of money for loss prevention which is a vanishing material concern for these companies. This is theater.
this is very much cheaper than people and helicopters and works better
The officers compensation, drone operators, infrastructure to run it all sums up to about 75k for the amount of time it took to get the perp.
The suspect stole $75 worth of merchandise and was only suspected of previous thefts but no evidence was given.
Totally makes sense.
is that more or less expensive than the helicopters?
Windows 11 is watching you…
Worth noting that Walmart has a very aggressive approach to combat theft. It’s commonly said that Walmart lets people steal. There is some truth to that — they don’t give chase. What they do is, they use a combination of loss prevention technologies to track the theft over time. Steal enough from them and they nab you and charge you with all of it, and they bring the receipts. Petty theft may not be worth prosecuting, but if they let it escalate to grand theft — that’s a different story.
Millions of tax dollars invested in programs, thousands of tax dollars in this case alone brought a hardened criminal mastermind to justice, over a bicycle that cost the company maybe $50 from the manufacturer.
I hope someone along the line stopped at any point to realize how colossally wasteful it was.
Friendly educational reminder that the most effective way to shoot down a drone is 12ga bird shot and clay target loads, you don’t need to pierce the body you only need to break the propellers. Your range isn’t infinite, but it’s better than video games would have you believe. Of course this information is only relevant if you decide to substitute clay target shooting with drones, as one does.
Good to know that none of the FAA part 107 rules apply to government employees wasting $75,000 in local resources (paid by local taxes) and frivolously endangering everyone using the public right of way so they can protect a couple hundred dollars or less of property for pro bono for a multi billion dollar global corporation.
This is admittedly very cool, and I don’t support shoplifting even if it’s from an evil megacorp.
What worries me is that Cop Drone™ will start carrying a gun some day.
