2025 Police Annual Report

SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM

In 2016, the Orland Park Police Department (OPPD) became one of the first municipal police departments in Illinois to receive Federal Aviation Administration (F.A.A.) authorization to operate a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) in national airspace for law enforcement operations. The department now has 30 F.A.A. licensed sUAS pilots who work among all shifts and are capable of flying the drones at any time, day or night. In September of 2025, the department added the Brinc DFR (Drones as First Responders) drone to our fleet. The Brinc DFR drone is the first DFR program in Cook County and second in the state of Illinois. This drone will be integrated into our CAD system where it will have the capability of being deployed to calls for service by dispatch with the push of a button. The OPPD had 62 drone deployments in 2025, which reflects a 169% increase from 2024. Of the 62 deployments, 11 were Brinc DFR drone deployments. These deployments were used to locate suspects, crash reconstruction, missing persons and more. Operators assisted neighboring agencies in searches for suspects of vehicular hijackings, stolen cars and robberies.

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