The University of North Texas Police Department (UNT PD) has adopted the use of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS), when appropriate, to assist emergency responders through provision of a complementary aerial visual perspective. All sUAS operators are FAA Part 107 licensed remote pilots

This document has been created to meet the requirements of law enforcement use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems according to section 423.008 of the Texas Government Code. In September 2013, the 83rd Texas Legislature passed House Bill 912. The bill requires that no earlier than January 1 and not later than January 15 of each odd-numbered year, a municipal law enforcement agency located in a county or municipality with a population greater than 150,000 that used or operated an unmanned aircraft during the preceding 24 months shall issue a written report to the Texas Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and each member of the Legislature. The document shall include the following:

      1. The number of times an unmanned aircraft was used, organized by date, time, location, and the types of incidents and types of justifications for the use;
      2. The number of criminal investigations aided by the use of an unmanned aircraft and a description of how the unmanned aircraft aided each investigation;
      3. The number of times an unmanned aircraft was used for law enforcement operation other than a criminal investigation, the dates and locations of those operations, and a description of how the unmanned aircraft aided each operation;
      4. The type of information collected on an individual, residence, property, or area that was not the subject of a law enforcement operation and the frequency of the collection of this information;
      5. The total cost of acquiring, maintaining, repairing, and operating or otherwise using each unmanned aircraft for the preceding 24 months.

The University of North Texas Police Department has retained this report for public viewing at the Sullivant Public Safety Center located at 1700 Wilshire St., Denton, TX 76201 and has posted the report on the department’s publicly accessible website.

Click Here to View Report