Dearborn Launches Michigan’s First Drone-Enhanced Crime Monitoring System for Rapid Emergency

The Dearborn Police Department rolled out a Drone as First Responder program and the FUSUS real-time crime-monitoring system. It's the first department in Michigan to combine thousands of cameras with drone technology. The flying machines can launch from anywhere in the city within 2.5 minutes to provide information during violent crimes, traffic crashes, missing persons, and property break-ins.

Six drones sit stationed across the city. High-definition cameras, zoom capabilities, thermal imaging, spotlights, and speakers for communication from a safe distance equip each one.

"This program will enable us to assess situations almost instantly when someone calls for help," said Police Chief Issa Shahin in a statement, as shared by Fox 2. "By supporting our officers in real-time as critical situations develop, it acts as a force multiplier, ensuring we cut down on response time, allocate resources appropriately, and provide robust service every time."

The FUSUS system operates separately from 911 dispatch. Officers can monitor the entire city through an integrated network of cameras. City-owned surveillance equipment gets connected alongside business security systems, officer body cameras, dash cams, and live feeds from residents' smartphones during emergencies.

Business owners can opt into the system for a few hundred dollars per year. When participating businesses call 911, police gain real-time access to their security cameras. The system also lets 911 dispatchers text links to callers, connecting their phone cameras straight to the crime center for live streaming during emergencies.

"We have thousands of city cameras that have already been incorporated into the system," Shahin said, according to WXYZ. "So it allows us to use those cameras, but it's really any camera anywhere in the city."

Not all business owners support the program. Kassem Rizk, manager of Hamido restaurant, expressed concerns about surveillance and automatic camera feeds going to police.

"I don't think there should be an automatic feed going anywhere other than the business owners," Rizk said, as shared by WXYZ.

Officials say cameras aren't monitored 24 hours a day. Access gets granted only during emergencies when businesses dial 911. All feeds are logged and made available to the public on the city's transparency page.

The police department's investments in investigative and response technologies have produced year-over-year declines in violent crimes and traffic injury incidents. Flight data will be made public through a dashboard to showcase the program's transparency.