Sacramento County approved the use of drones to find homeless encampments following approval of an $8.9 billion county budget for the 2025–26 fiscal year.
The Northern California county’s Probation Department request for drones was granted after budget discussions on Wednesday and authorization from the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
“These tools allow our supervision teams to access remote areas such as the American River Parkway, where traditional vehicles may be limited,” said Julie Wherry, interim chief probation officer, at the June 3 board meeting. “Drones would be used to help locate encampments not visible from public roads.”
The addition of such technology would also help provide water, food, clothing, and hygiene products to individuals living in areas that are difficult to access, according to Wherry. The department currently has three mobile outreach vans, two four-wheel drive trucks, and one all-terrain vehicle.
The Sacramento County Probation Department clarified that it will purchase and use commercial drones, not military models. The department said it is looking into drones that are “DJI products” with communication and thermal imaging capabilities.
DJI, short for Da-Jiang Innovations, is a Chinese technology company that specializes in drones and has been a subject of U.S. national security concerns. In December 2024, former President Joe Biden signed a bill that included a mandated review of drones produced by DJI and other Chinese companies.
Between 2021 and 2023, four states—Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee—passed laws that either restricted or banned drones produced by foreign companies from being used in their local government agencies.
The Epoch Times has reached out to California’s Sacramento County Probation Department for comment on the use of DJI drones.
While the Probation Department didn’t specify the cost of purchasing its drones, a commercial DJI drone with thermal capabilities can cost around $6,000 or more.
The county’s drone program will be funded by grants and focus on outreach to the homeless population as part of the department’s “equity and inclusion” mission, according to Wherry.
She said the drones will “offer aerial overview and mapping to assist with planning and documentation, and most importantly, support on-site community check-ins with clients to reduce warrants.”
The Board of Supervisors also approved requests for more drones from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office—which received a $2.1 million budget increase—will reduce its Youth Services Unit to keep funding for its homeless outreach teams, while also purchasing more drones.
At the June 4 budget hearing, Sheriff Jim Cooper initially proposed cutting homeless response teams. He said the department needed to shift resources for its understaffed emergency response unit, which had 194 fewer officers answering 911 compared with 20 years ago.
Undersheriff Mike Ziegler said, “When the decisions were made, it came down to noncore functions versus core functions.”
Ziegler said the department’s response times average 14 minutes compared to the seven- to nine-minute average in counties such as Stanislaus or San Francisco.
However, after discussions and public comments, county supervisors suggested reducing Youth Services, saying it’s “not a core service.”
“There are benefits to Youth Services, but why not find a different funding source? Why not rely on some future grant?” Supervisor Phil Serna said.
The board also approved the purchase of new commercial drones, including DJI models, for the department, which will increase the Sheriff’s Office’s collection from 56 to 75.
“I am very supportive of the usage of drones and other equipment that can help our public safety be more efficient,” Supervisor Rosario Rodriguez said.
The new technology will be used in situations where sending in a drone would be safer than sending in a deputy, Cooper said.
