City Council
From horses to drones, city police use all available tools.
This year, the city approved police drone use in the field, and the bureau has now bought nine. The acting chief said they'll help officers gauge incidents, aid search and rescue, and document crime scenes. The money came from a trust fund that can only be used for unique purchases. Meanwhile, the mounted unit has eight new part-time riders.
Written by Amy Whipple
City police are flying into 2026 with nine new drones, and reaching back to the first days of policing with additional mounted officers.
This year, the city adopted a policy to allow police to use unmanned aircraft systems in the field. The bureau has now purchased four interior and five exterior drones to use for situational awareness.
Acting police chief Marty Devine said at the Nov. 18 budget meeting the drones were purchased to help officers understand the scale and scope of an incident, aid in search and rescue missions, including in response to Amber Alerts, as well as crime scene documentation.
Money for the drones came from the Confiscated Narcotics Trust Fund, which currently has a $1.5 million balance. The fund can only be used for unique purchases and cannot be used for routine general expenses.
General expenses in the $118.4 million preliminary operating budget include 800 full-time officers. Eighty-four of those positions are currently unfilled, according to council budget director Peter McDevitt, which has contributed to the city spending more than $15 million in overtime pay.
As a result of ongoing recruitment efforts, two academy classes in 2025 have graduated 53 new officers onto the force.
There are also eight new part-time riders for the mounted unit.
Divine also said that the bureau will continue its Pittsburgh Police Cares program to try to facilitate community outreach and collaboration. Toward this end, officers took part in $200,000 in training and professional development, which Divine said was a “critical” allocation.
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