The chattanooga police departments DFR (drone as first responder) program will be utilized to address a staffing shortage of officers along with increasing response times to calls for service within…

The Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Program awarded the City of Chattanooga $174,998 on October 1, 2025, under the Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing Grants program (CFDA 16.710) to deploy and operate a Drone as First Responder (DFR) program addressing officer staffing shortages and elevated response times in high-crime areas of Chattanooga.

The DFR program uses data-driven deployment to address violent crime through two operational approaches. First, drones respond to low-priority calls for service, freeing officers to concentrate in areas with known violent crime activity to provide specific deterrence. Second, officer-teleoperated drones deploy to high-priority violent crime incidents ahead of arriving patrol units to gather tactical intelligence and track suspects for apprehension, operating outside Chattanooga Police Department's standalone UAS operations unit. Performance occurs in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with a period of performance ending September 30, 2027.

The chattanooga police departments DFR (drone as first responder) program will be utilized to address a staffing shortage of officers along with increasing response times to calls for service within the areas of highest violent crime. The DFR project will use data driven approaches to address violent crime by deploying a drone to low priority calls for service while keeping officers available in the areas known for violent crime to provide a specific deterrent to violent crime. DFR will also utilize drone technology, outside of cpds stand alone UAS operations unit, to deploy to high priority, violent crime to have an officer teleoperated drone first on scene to gain intel for officers traveling and/or track suspects of violent crime for apprehension.