Hayward approves eight-drone first-responder program for 911 calls
Hayward’s City Council voted 6-1 on June 16 to approve a Drone as First Responder program that would allow the Police Department to deploy pre-positioned drones to 911 calls before patrol officers arrive.
The plan calls for eight drones positioned across Hayward. The drones are intended to provide live information from an emergency scene, giving responders an aerial view before officers reach the location.
The estimated annual cost is approximately $589,000. The approval moves the city toward selecting a vendor and establishing how the system will operate, but it does not mean the drones are already responding to calls.
What the program would do
Under the proposed Drone as First Responder model, drones would be placed at locations around the city and dispatched to certain emergency calls. The stated purpose is to give police and other responders more information during the early minutes of an incident.
Hayward Police Chief Bryan Matthews presented the program to the council. The Police Department lists emergency response, search and rescue, disaster response, fire investigation and criminal investigations among the uses for its unmanned aircraft systems.
The program would change how Hayward handles the first stage of some emergencies. A drone could provide information about conditions at a scene before an officer arrives, although the city has not provided performance data showing how the program would affect response times.
Next step is vendor bidding
The city issued a request for proposals for a Drone as First Responder solution. Bids are due July 13, 2026.
The city has not identified a selected vendor, launch date or exact operating hours in the records cited for the program. Those details would come after the proposal process and further implementation decisions.
The council’s June 16 action concerned incorporating Drone as First Responder operations into the Police Department’s existing police unmanned aircraft systems program. The approval therefore establishes a direction for the program while leaving procurement and operating details to be worked out.
Oversight questions remain
Using drones in response to 911 calls also raises questions beyond the technology itself. Those include who has authority to dispatch a drone, how surveillance footage would be handled, how long data would be retained, whether facial-recognition tools would be permitted and what information would be available to the public.
The city’s stated uses extend beyond immediate emergency calls to search and rescue, disaster response, fire investigation and criminal investigations. That broader range of uses makes the eventual operating rules important for residents, people involved in emergency incidents and neighborhoods where the drones are positioned.
For now, the clearest next date is July 13, when proposals for the system are due. The city’s procurement and later policy decisions will determine when the eight-drone program begins, how it is dispatched and what safeguards govern its use.
Sources
- June 16, 2026 City Council agenda record, City of Hayward
- Drone Program, Hayward Police Department
- Hayward Council Approves New Drone Program, Hayward Herald
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