Newport Beach Joins Growing National Movement with BRINC Drones First Responder Program

The skies above Newport Beach are about to become more than just a scenic backdrop for this coastal Southern California community. In a unanimous decision, the Newport Beach City Council has given the green light to a comprehensive drone program that promises to fundamentally reshape how the city responds to 911 calls. The five-year agreement with Seattle-based BRINC Drones Inc. isn’t just another technology purchase—it’s a statement about the future of emergency response.

Cutting Through Traffic and Time

The program centers around BRINC’s Responder drone—described by founder and CEO Blake Resnick as “the world’s first purpose-built 911 response drone.” Unlike consumer or enterprise drones adapted for emergency use, BRINC’s systems were designed from the ground up for public safety applications.

“It’s designed to take off from a citywide network of recharging stations and then hook into computer-aided dispatch,” Resnick explained. “So the second someone calls 911, we grab that GPS coordinate and then we use it to automatically dispatch an aircraft to that location. We can respond to 911 calls with this technology in tens of seconds.”

This isn’t a marginal improvement—it’s a complete reimagining of what’s possible. When minutes or even seconds can mean the difference between life and death, BRINC’s drones are reaching emergencies in under 70 seconds, providing first responders with critical information before they even arrive on scene.

A Strategic Network Across Newport Beach

The implementation reveals thoughtful consideration of how to maximize the technology’s potential. Five of the Responder drones will be strategically positioned throughout the city, ensuring rapid coverage to any location. These units will be operated by civilian specialists working from the police department’s newly established Crime Information Center, which opened in January as part of the city’s broader technology modernization initiatives.

A sixth Responder drone will be designated specifically for patrol officers, providing them with immediate aerial support capabilities while in the field. The seventh aircraft in the package is BRINC’s specialized LEMUR 2 model, designed for crisis negotiations and SWAT operations. This smaller, more maneuverable drone can navigate inside buildings and confined spaces, equipped with night vision and thermal imaging technology. Perhaps most impressively, it can generate 3D floor plans of buildings in real-time, providing critical intelligence during high-risk scenarios.

Part of a National Wave

Newport Beach isn’t alone in recognizing the potential of this technology. The city is joining a rapidly growing national movement toward Drone as First Responder (DFR) programs. According to BRINC Drones, over 150 agencies across the country are now moving toward city-wide 911 drone response programs, with more than 500 public safety agencies already utilizing BRINC devices.

This momentum reflects increasingly clear benefits these systems provide. In communities where BRINC’s DFR programs have been implemented, response times have been cut by as much as 54%. The technology has also shown the ability to resolve up to 25% of calls without dispatching officers, providing significant efficiency gains for departments facing staffing challenges.

“Every time I hear a story about one of our drones helping resolve a dangerous situation without anyone getting hurt, or saving a life… it reinforces why we do this work,” Resnick has stated. “It’s proof that the tools we’re building can make a tangible difference.”

Born from Tragedy, Built for Safety

BRINC’s founder Blake Resnick has described how the company’s mission was shaped by real events, specifically citing the 2017 Las Vegas shooting as a catalyst. “I started asking myself, ‘What if there was a better way to get eyes and ears on a situation without putting first responders or innocent people in harm’s way?'” he has stated in interviews.

That question has led to the development of an integrated ecosystem that includes not just the drones themselves, but also the Responder Stations (charging docks) and LiveOps software platform that makes the entire system work seamlessly. This ecosystem approach addresses one of the primary challenges that has historically limited drone adoption in public safety: the need for solutions that integrate with existing emergency response infrastructure.

The appeal of BRINC’s technology extends beyond just speed. In an era of increasing calls for police reform and transparency, these unarmed drone systems offer a way to enhance public safety while minimizing potential confrontations. BRINC has committed to never weaponizing its drones, focusing instead on tools that prioritize de-escalation and information gathering.

Addressing Real-World Challenges

What makes BRINC’s offering particularly attractive to agencies like Newport Beach is its purpose-built nature. Unlike consumer or general enterprise drones that have been adapted for emergency response, BRINC’s systems seamlessly integrate with computer-aided dispatch (CAD), digital evidence management systems (DEMS), and 911 call systems.

This integration is crucial for departments facing mounting challenges like staffing shortages and strained budgets. The technology isn’t replacing human responders—it’s augmenting their capabilities, allowing them to make better, more informed decisions before arriving on scene.

The Newport Beach agreement includes provisions to upgrade the drones to BRINC’s latest models in the third and fifth years of the contract, ensuring the department will continue to benefit from technological advances. This forward-looking approach aligns with other technology investments the city has made, including the installation of 69 automated license plate readers completed last October.

Transforming Emergency Response

For communities like Newport Beach, the decision to implement BRINC’s Drone as First Responder program isn’t just about having the latest technology—it’s about fundamentally reimagining what’s possible in emergency response. It’s about getting critical information to first responders in seconds rather than minutes, potentially saving lives in the process.

The days of police helicopters circling overhead for hours or officers rushing blindly into unknown situations may soon be behind us. Instead, Newport Beach is embracing a future where technology serves as the first set of eyes on the scene, providing real-time situational awareness that enhances safety for both first responders and the community they serve.

As BRINC Drones continues to expand its presence in public safety agencies across the country, Newport Beach’s decision places it at the forefront of a technological revolution that’s reshaping emergency response as we know it. The question now isn’t whether other agencies will follow suit, but how quickly they can implement these systems before they become the expected standard in public safety.