‘Drone as First Responder’ Program Coming to Henderson

New Program to Provide Faster Response and Real-Time Information

HENDERSON, Nev. (Nov. 3, 2026)- The City of Henderson is working to make Drone as First Responder (DFR) technology a permanent part of public safety, following a successful 30-day demonstration that showed how drones can deliver real-time information faster and help responders make better-informed decisions.

DFR provides responders with a real-time view of an incident before they arrive, improving situational awareness, supporting faster decisions and enhancing safety.

A successful 30-day demonstration showed the technology's potential:

• Drones arrived first on scene more than 71% of the time.
• On Priority 1 calls, drones arrived first 67% of the time, averaging 3 minutes, 29 seconds faster than patrol officers.
• Drones provided useful intelligence on 99.8% of 529 flights.
• 16.2% of incidents were resolved without sending a patrol officer or fire crew.

Beyond police response, the technology has applications across City operations, including fire response, emergency management, infrastructure assessment, search and rescue, severe weather response and more.

Once implemented, DFR will operate through the Regional Drone Operations Center at the Southern Nevada Counter Terrorism Center, representing an investment in smarter, faster and more informed response.

The program will be supported by the federal Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) and donations from the Henderson Police Foundation. Additional details, including an implementation timeline, will be shared as the program moves forward.