Two years after launching a drone program, the Champaign Police Department is considering expanding its current fleet of seven drones.

The department began its Unmanned Aerial Systems program in July 2024. At the time, Champaign police said drones would give officers another way to search for missing people, document crime scenes and traffic crashes and respond to certain emergencies.

The department currently has 16 licensed pilots, including officers who can use drones for crime-scene photography. As the Champaign program enters its third year, Drone Coordinator and Sergeant Justin Prosser said the department would like to increase both its number of drones and licensed pilots. 

“Like all technology, my phone’s two years old and it’s out of date,” Prosser said. “I would like to expand our fleet and expand our number of pilots.”

As for the department’s development of the program in the last two years, Prosser said:

“There’s been really no change. Same drones that were donated to us, that we still have.”

The Champaign Police Department currently owns seven drones, six of which are cited on its web page on technology use. The drones were donated by Monticello-based nonprofit Peacemaker Project 703. 

Prosser said the devices can be used only under circumstances permitted by state law.

Illinois law defines a drone as “any aerial vehicle that does not carry a human operator.” Champaign police describe the devices as remotely operated aircraft, generally controlled by a pilot on the ground and equipped with an onboard computer and video camera. 

Drones can be used in certain circumstances including search and rescue operations, locating missing people, documenting crime scenes and vehicle crashes, assisting people who cannot safely be reached and responding to some situations involving an immediate threat to life. Drones can also be used while serving a search warrant and at certain public events.

State law requires police to provide notice at least 24 hours before using a drone at a qualifying special event and to post signs at entrances. Champaign police, however, said the department has never used drones for that purpose.

“We haven’t used them for special events at all because the law says you have to post a sign 24 hours in advance. We haven’t even made signs for our stuff,” Prosser said. “For parades and special events, it’s got to be, I think without having the law in front of me, a city-sponsored or some kind of government-sponsored event. And most of our special events are businesses and what not wanting to put on something.”

Police departments in Illinois are also required to report information about their drone use, according to the state’s Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act. Champaign police say those reports include when and why drones were deployed, where they were used, whether video was recorded and whether recordings were retained for training.

Champaign police reported using a drone 79 times during fiscal year 2025, according to data collected by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.

“A majority of our flights are under that exemption of the code,” Prosser said, referring to the provision allowing drone use when police reasonably believe quick action is needed to prevent harm, apprehend a suspect or preserve evidence. He said the department has also used it for warrants. 

Prosser said the department also recently used its drones to assist firefighters searching for a person who was swept away by floodwaters. 

The department’s web page says officers who operate its drones must meet Federal Aviation Administration licensing requirements and undergo department training. Drone pilots are also required to follow department policy as well as state and federal law.

The department also has rules governing what happens to images and video collected during flights. Recordings involving identifiable people are not kept unless police have reasonable suspicion that the material contains evidence of criminal activity. 

The department’s web page states that “all retained data will be maintained or destroyed pursuant to department records retention and evidence policies and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.”

“The law is very strict on when we can use it,” Prosser said. “I’m a by-the-book guy. If the law says we can only use it for this, that’s what we use it for.”

Prosser said the drones are primarily deployed for urgent situations, including people fleeing from police and higher-risk calls involving armed subjects.