The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office Drone Team was established in April 2020 and became operational on December 8^th, 2020. 

The Sheriff’s Office operates three, small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) also commonly referred to as drones.  The Drone Team consists of nine members who fly under the guidelines of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Part 107 requirements. 

The Drone Team is designed to enhance the capabilities of the Patrol Division and Specialized Units, such as the SWAT Team, Dive Team, and Accident Reconstruction Team.  Thermal cameras equipped on two of the drones provide the ability to perform search and rescue missions in both day and night conditions.  These drones also have the ability to drop payloads under 2lbs to persons in need.  Payloads that can be delivered include personal floatation devices, cell-phones, and first aid kits.  The third, smaller drone, is designed to be flown indoors and can be utilized in tactical situations to locate suspects without putting deputies in harm’s way. 

In the first year of the program drones were flown in nearly 20 support missions and were instrumental in locating missing individuals, apprehension of fleeing dangerous suspects, fire investigations, crime scene investigations, traffic accident reconstruction, and a barricaded hostage rescue incident.  As the drone program has shown great benefits to the safety of our community, the Sheriff’s Office will continue to enhance the capabilities of the drone team as technology changes.  We will ensure that pilots who fly the aircraft are highly trained and observe FAA regulations, office policy, and State of Wisconsin laws regarding the use of drones.