DFR – Enhancement of our UAS program
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office has relied on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to support patrol and investigative operations for over 14 years. The current patrol-led UAS program consists of nearly 40 FAA certified remote pilots who respond to incidents and operate UAS to support patrol and investigative operations with the support of deputies functioning as visual observers.
Beginning in November 2026, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office launched our DFR program in the contract cities of Thousand Oaks and Camarillo. Drone docks have been strategically installed at locations throughout the cities to facilitate their rapid response to support patrol operations with the objective of arriving on scene prior to patrol deputies. The goals of the DFR program are to provide decreased response times to high-priority incidents and to provide real-time, critical information to responding patrol deputies to help them make informed decisions to maximize their safety and the safety of our communities.
Benefits to the Community
Key benefits to the community are anticipated to include:
- Enhanced safety for our deputies and our communities
- Quicker responses to priority incidents
- Increased situational awareness to facilitate appropriate deployment of public safety resources
- Support for missing persons and disaster response
- Closing the response gap from patrol-led UAS response
- Improved outcomes for members of our community
DFR Frequently Asked Questions
As part of our ongoing commitment to transparency and community engagement, we believe it is important to provide clear and accurate information about our DFR program. The following questions and answers offer insight into how the program operates, its capabilities, and the safeguards in place to ensure its responsible use.
Question: Will DFR operate as part of a broader surveillance system of our communities?
Answer: No, our DFR equipment does not have any automated license plate reader (ALPR), facial recognition, or biometric identification capabilities.
Question: Will DFR be used to proactively patrol our communities?
Answer: No, utilizing DFR for proactive enforcement is specifically prohibited by our policy. All DFR flights will be associated with a logged call for service in our Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system and records of each flight will be imported into the transparency portal.
Question: Will DFR be used to replace deputies, dispatchers, and other public safety personnel?
Answer: DFR is designed to support public safety efforts, not to replace the men and women serving our communities.
Privacy, Accountability and Transparency
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office is committed to using DFR in a responsible, lawful, and transparent manner to support public safety and serve the people of Ventura County. The Department is equally committed to the transparent operation of its DFR program.
In support of those objectives, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office has implemented the following program safeguards:
- FAA certified drone pilots
- FAA Certificate of Authorizations for UAS missions
- Strict Department policy governing UAS operations
- Specific documentation for all DFR flights
- Incident-specific missions
In our continuing commitment to transparency and accountability, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office has established a public-facing online transparency portal that publishes metadata associated with DFR flights. That transparency portal can be accessed here: https://cloud.skydio.com/dashboard/venturaso