A recent Florida law regulating the use of Chinese-made drones prohibited the drones used by some SWFL law enforcement agencies and forced budget requests for new drones of up to $150,000.
A recent story reported by the Digital Camera World web site said that the law, backed by Florida governor Ron DeSantis and banning the use of Chinese-made drones in Florida, has gone into force, grounding millions of dollars worth of police and state-service-owned drones overnight. The list, as of April 5, also bans drones made in Iran, North Korea and Venezuela, among other countries.
The law, Florida statute 934.50, provides a list of approved drones with many that had been used by law enforcement and many other state agencies not on that list.
For example, the Lee County Sheriff's Office had a fleet of drones, particularly one called the DragonFish, which is manufactured by Autel, a Chinese-related firm and not on that approved list. The law effectively made 38 of LCSO’s 41 drones obsolete at the end of 2022.
In the Sheriff's Office budget documents issued in June 2022, there was a paragraph under the heading of Strategic Plan pertaining to the Chinese-drone issue:
"LCSO will work with Lee County Administration and budget for future operational costs. LCSO Command Staff will identify and discuss unanticipated needs arising outside of traditional operations to determine how best to meet the challenge. For example, Florida this year severely restricted law enforcement’s ability to use its existing fleet of drones. Beginning in 2023, only approved drones can be used due to security concerns."
Furthermore, under the listing of drone replacements, the Sheriff's Office budget made the following request: "Florida enacted legislation this year that restricts what drones law enforcement and other governmental agencies can use. This change makes 38 of LCSO’s 41 drones obsolete at the end of this year. The estimated replacement cost of LCSO’s Mavic small drones are $15,000 per drone, while replacement of LCSO’s Matrice medium-range drones are $50,000 to $65,000 per drone. The replacement cost of the Dragon Fish long range drone is unknown. Budgeted request: $150,000."
The Dragon Fish drone lists online in a range from $90,000 to more than $112,000, depending on equipment provided.
Responding to a request for comment on the drone issue, the Sheriff's Office said "We have purchased and are purchasing drones to comply with the statute."
A Fort Myers Police Department official said that agency also uses drones and was affected like many other agencies across the state, by the new drone law. "We are evaluating our options as we will need to purchased new drones after thorough evaluations of what is within the state law," said spokeswoman Sgt. Kristin Capuzzi.
The Collier County Sheriff's Office drone program supported daily law enforcement operations since 2012 with 29 drone pilots and a fleet of 31 DJI drones when the new rules were went into effect January 1, 2023.
The Sheriff's Office made more than 9,048 flight as of August 2022.
"In addition, to ensure compliance with the statutory January 1, 2023, deadline that only drones from the Department’s Approved Manufacturer List be utilized, CCSO purchased three Skydio drones," Kari Partington, Media Relations Bureau Manager for the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, said.
She added that the Sheriff's Office will be purchasing additional drones to replace the drones that are now prohibited.
"CCSO’s drone unit is used on a regular basis for missing persons, mentally ill subjects, attempting to locate fleeing felons, etc.," Partington said. "Other public safety partners, such as the fire and EMS, use our drones during building fires and brushfires using infrared technology for heat signatures."
She described an instance in 2021 when a now-prohibited drone was used inside a house to locate a subject who had already shot at law enforcement.
"The drone was able to locate the subject and then the subject shot down the drone," she said. "Fortunately, the drone was able to provide us with the necessary information without having the subject shoot one of our SWAT members."
Despite having the use now of three of the approved drone models, Partington said there are challenges.
"The drones on the approved list lack many of the features of their DJI competitors such as night flights using infrared technology that is substandard and has proven difficult to locate persons," she said. "Drones with the ability to fly inside of buildings are not yet reliable."
Partington said the Sheriff's Office understands understands the purpose of the legislation and supports domestic security concerns.
"We are committed to exploring all options of drone manufactures who are not from foreign countries of concern in an effort to return to the robust drone program that we had last year to best serve the residents and visitors of Collier County," she said.
The law also affected higher education, prompting state institutions to check their inventory for the prohibited devices.
"FGCU is aware of the law, and steps have been taken to ensure all the drones used by faculty and staff comply with the law," Pam McCabe, Coordinator of University Communications & Media Relations, said.
The Digital Camera World story said the new law is an unfunded mandate, meaning there is no new money for departments operating drones to replace their Chinese – usually DJI or Autel – or other banned drones with alternatives, and, as many have pointed out, the alternatives often aren't up to the job.
DJI is the largest supplier of non-military drones on the planet, with a wide choice of what are considered the best DJI drones for most tasks.
The list of approved drone manufacturers issued by the state Department of Management Services for Florida governmental agency use include Skydio, Parrot, Altavian, Teal Drones and Vantage Robotics.
The statute says that, as of January 1, 2022, a governmental agency may only purchase or otherwise acquire a drone from this list of approved manufacturers. Governmental agencies had until Jan. 1, 2023, to continue to utilize drones not on the department’s approved list.
The department said the list does not guarantee that all models produced by these manufacturers meet an individual governmental agency's specific needs or security requirements.
According to Digital Camera World, Lt. Michael Crabb, of the North County Sheriff's Office, told the Florida state senate: "If there are national security issues with a DJI drone, then show us what it is."
He also said: "I'm an American, and I wish we could buy all American-made drones [but] there are limitations with American-made, unfortunately."
He indicated that, of a fleet of 25 drones used to monitor active crimes and in other police work, 19 were DJI and would now be grounded.
DJI has said that the Florida decision "ruling against the use of Chinese-made drones for law enforcement is a regrettable development and is unjustified.”
The U.S. Interior Department grounded hundreds of Chinese-made drones it was using to track wildfires and monitor dams, volcanoes and wildlife in 2020 and earlier this year the U.S. federal government banned the purchase of Chinese drones within the federal sector.
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