LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is highlighting major milestones in its drone program, reporting an average response time of just 85 seconds to emergency calls across the valley.
During an appearance on FOX5’s “Behind the Badge,” LVMPD officials detailed how the agency has transitioned from mobile vehicle-launched drones to fixed launch sites known as skyports.
Metro currently operates 38 dock drones stationed across 12 skyport locations throughout the city. Monitored and deployed remotely from a centralized drone operations center, the unmanned aircraft provide immediate overhead intelligence to officers heading toward active scenes.
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“You’d go to a call for service, you don’t know what you’re walking into,” Shallenberger said. “And now we have a drone that responds. Our average response time for us is 85 seconds. Somebody calls in 911, we have a drone there, we can gather that intelligence, tell that officer, ‘Hey, this is what you’re walking into.’”
Among the fleet is the Skydio X10, which supervisors described as a versatile workhorse for service calls. The model features a parachute system, an attachable spotlight, and a flight duration of 20 to 25 minutes.
With 25,000 flights logged this year alone, Metro now operates one of the largest municipal drone programs in the nation. While the technology regularly assists in tracking criminal suspects, officials emphasized its critical role in search-and-rescue operations.
In a recent case in Summerlin, a drone deployment helped save the life of a missing elderly man. After the man walked away into the desert, operators scoured the terrain and located him lying motionless just as the team was preparing to rotate batteries on its final flight. Officers and medical personnel were guided directly to his location.
“He truly wouldn’t have survived if we didn’t find him,” LVMPD officials said.
Video of the Summerlin rescue has since been shared on the department’s social media.
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