The following document was created to fulfill the requirement of the Texas Government Code, Section 423.008-Law Enforcement Use of UAS (Unmanned Aerial System).

(a) Not earlier than January 1 and not later than January 15 of each odd numbered year, each state law enforcement agency and each county or municipal law enforcement agency located in a county or municipality, as applicable, with a population greater than 150,000, that used or operated an unmanned aircraft during the preceding 24 months shall issue a written report to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and each member of the legislature and shall:

1. Retain the report for public viewing;
2. Post the report on the law enforcement agency’s publicly accessible website if one exists.

(b) The report must include:

1. The number of times an unmanned aircraft was used, organized by date, time, location, and the types of incidents and types of justification for the use.
2. The number of criminal investigations aided by the use of an unmanned aircraft and a description of how the unmanned aircraft aided each investigation.
3. The number of times an unmanned aircraft was used for a law enforcement operation other than a criminal investigation, the dates and locations of those operations, and a description of how the unmanned aircraft aided each operation.
4. The type of information collected on an individual, residence, property, or area that was not the subject of a law enforcement operation and the frequency of the collection of this information.
5. The total cost of acquiring, maintaining, repairing, and operating or otherwise using each unmanned aircraft for the preceding 24 months.

Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1390 (H.B. 912), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2013.

The Office of Constable Terry Allbritton, Harris County Precinct Five began their sUAS (Aerial Drone) program on May 15, 2019, with the acquisition of two DJI (Da-Jiang Innovations Science and Technology Co., Ltd.) Matrice 210v2 systems.

In October 2020, the Harris County Municipal Utility District number 165 donated four additional DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual systems for use in our fleet.

In August 2022, seized monies were used to purchase, and replace outdated and unserviceable systems, two DJI (Da-Jiang Innovations Science and Technology Co., LTD.) M30T systems.

In August of 2023, four DJI (Da-Jiang Innovations Science and Technology Co., LTD) Mavic 3T (M3T) sUAS were purchased to replenish our outdated Mavic 2 Enterprise Duals.

In July of 2024 3 DJI (Da-Jiang Innovations Science and Technology Co., LTD) Avata 2 sUAS were purchased to expand our capabilities to assist with interior operations for officer safety.

Since the inception of the sUAS program, we have grown the program to include nine active drones, six inactive (training) drones, and twenty-one pilots.

All pilots have been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration under the CFR Part 107 and have also been certified under our department’s approved Blanket FAA Certificate of Authorization; number 2024-CSA-14571-COA, which is effective during the period of April 2, 2024, through April 1, 2026, as well as under our department’s approved Jurisdictional FAA Certificate of Authorization; number 2024-CSA-14744-COA, which is effective from April 25, 2024, through April 24, 2026.

During the reportable period of January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2024, the Office of Constable Terry Allbritton, Harris County Precinct Five conducted 809 deployments which included: