MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Maryland (DC News Now) — The Montgomery County Department of Police (MCPD) has a program that officials say has proven extremely effective since it was implemented last November.

MCPD3^rd District Commander Jason Cokinos said the average response time for the drone first responder program is 60 seconds.

Cokinos said the Raven One drone has been particularly helpful in preventing shoplifting in downtown Silver Spring.

“We are dealing with professional shoplifting gangs here,” said Cokinos. “They take garbage bags full of items.”

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Repeat shoplifters recently stole hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise from a CVS store. The drone tracked the suspects as they attempted to flee before officers stopped and arrested them.

“There are officers in our operations room who listen to incoming emergency calls live. They can then immediately send out the drone,” said Cokinos.

Cokinos says Raven One is often able to arrive on the scene while the crime is still in progress. That was the case last Friday when three teens attacked and robbed another teen.

“We immediately sent the drone to the witness – a member of our community who called 911. So the drone was there within 30 seconds and actually filmed the suspects fleeing,” he said.

The drone followed the suspects as they fled and transmitted their location to patrol officers who arrived and made the arrests.

“We like to track people who have committed a crime with the drone and look for the safest place to arrest them,” said Cokinos.

Cokinos said the Drone First Responder program has responded to over 1,200 911 calls and helped officers arrest over 300 suspects. The program will expand to Gaithersburg and Bethesda in the coming weeks.

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