Two Skydio drones will respond to select calls in Calgary as part of a 90-day trial. Medicine Hat police tested similar technology last month.–HANDOUT PHOTO

Brook Wagner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Calgary police have started sending drones to certain emergency calls, and in some cases the drones may reach a scene before officers do.
The Calgary Police Service began a 90-day trial Thursday. It is called the Drone as First Responder program, or DFR. Two Skydio X10 drones are being sent to select calls in the city’s northeast and southeast, police say.
The drones give responding officers a live view from the air. Police say this helps members understand what is happening and choose the safest response. The drones will respond only to select calls across the three-month trial.

The drones are flown from a secure site in northeast Calgary. When an eligible call comes in a sworn officer trained as a drone pilot can launch a drone from that location, police say. In some cases the drone arrives first and gives an early look at the scene.
“This trial will help us determine how the technology can support public safety in Calgary by providing responding officers with valuable information about an incident, often before they arrive on scene,” said superintendent Jodi Gach of the Calgary Police Service Operational Support Division.
Transport Canada approved the drones for the trial, and the service says the fights will follow Transport Canada rules and its own policies.
Calgary is not the only Alberta agency testing the idea. In June, Red Deer RCMP launched what it calls Canada's first DFR program. It runs Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with pilots flying from control centres at two detachments. 
Closer to home the Medicine Hat Police Service ran a three-day Skydio drone pilot that ended Aug. 14. Over two days, drones flew 19 operational flights and reached the scene before officers 64 per cent of the time. In one call, a drone followed a suspect armed with an edged weapon. In another, the drone was on scene in 38 seconds for a report of a person with a possible firearm.
MHPS has flown drones since 2020. Other than the two day program, it does not run a DFR program of its own.
By Brook Wagner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Sep 11, 2026 at 20:59

This item reprinted with permission from   Medicine Hat News   Medicine Hat, Alberta


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