Our Leadership on Public Safety and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)

UAS TECHNOLOGY AND INTEGRATION

Organizations are grappling with decisions about how best to integrate UAS technology safely and efficiently into their operations and their communities. This push to integrate new technology is not a new one; over the last few years police forces across the country have worked through numerous challenges in their mission to integrate body-worn cameras (BWCs) into their operations and procedures.

As the training and technical assistance provider to more than 250 law enforcement agencies (through the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s BWC Policy and Implementation Program), CNA has developed deep understanding of the complexities and challenges involved in implementing a new technology in local policing; many of these challenges are relevant to UAS use. In addition, CNA’s Institute for Public Research (IPR) has designed, executed, and evaluated more than 350 homeland security exercises since 1999, which have included participants ranging from local first responders to the president of the United States.

UAS CONCEPTS AND WORKSHOPS

Public safety organizations have begun to realize the value of UAS; however, the regulatory environment can become a barrier too great to overcome. Workshops provide a unique opportunity to bridge the gap and gather diverse stakeholders and tackle problems that can best be solved by the community. In its workshops, CNA's expert designers, facilitators, and evaluators will ensure that state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) goals and objectives are clearly stated, and that the workshop drives participants towards the outline of a UAS integration Concept of Operations (CONOPS) that covers the jurisdiction as a whole. Using realistic and plausible scenarios, a facilitator leads participants through a series of questions and challenges that will generate ideas about how UAS might be used by SLTT stakeholders both during day-to-day operations and during a disaster response. CNA’s approach is to use workshops to develop CONOPS and use cases to support future planning and grant-writing efforts, by providing a summary of the issues and jurisdiction needs that allows stakeholders to address all current and future plans for strategic integration and use of UAS across SLTT jurisdictions.

UAS REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS

CNA brings expertise in UAS federal regulation, memoranda of understanding and/or agreement with partner law enforcement agencies, and review of state and local legislations. This regulation experience supports CNA’s provision of training and materials that informs officers of federal, state, and local laws that may apply. In addition, CNA works with jurisdictions to develop UAS-response guidelines that are specific to them. CNA delivers the type of training that is best suited to a department’s needs (e.g., in person, virtual, self-led) providing a versatile approach to mission success.