There is one key component the new $92 million Manteca Police headquarters breaking ground tentatively in August will have to enhance public safety.

It’s a real time crime center.

Congressman Josh Harder has secured a $750,000 federal budget earmark to help fund the creation of a centralized technology-driven unit within the police department.

It will also include the additional placement of cameras throughout Manteca plus the ability to quickly pull together — and shift through — large amounts of data.

The new cameras — as well as existing ones — are tied into the real time crime center along with drones maximizing the effectiveness of police responding to crime in real time.

Police Chief Stephen Schluer said the goal is to secure funding for the BRINC drones to put them into service as soon as possible as first responder drones.

The real time crime unit would debut with the new headquarters.

Data from other police departments that have employed the first-responder drones show:

*Drones provide immediate on-the-scene information during emergencies with the average drone response time being 70 seconds.
*One in four calls are cleared solely with drones without the need to dispatch a unit.

*Allow safer and more effective pursuit of fleeing suspects.

*Police officer response times are 54 percent quicker as drones can clear non-priority calls so officers can focus on what matters.

*They increase officer safety as it gets eyes and ears in dangerous situations without risking lives and before officers arrive.

*It reduces use of force as it creates distance and slows down the speed of operations with technology that is able to quickly assess the situation.

*Delivers life saving payloads such as Narcan, automatic emergency defibrillators, EpiPens, cell phones and other equipment within seconds.

*Quickly assess traffic accidents and fires

Schuler used a bank robbery in progress as an example of how drones tied in with a real crime time unit and its instant access to cameras would work.

A drone dispatched as a first responder is able to shave as much as three minutes off the response time.

In doing so, it gives the responding officers real time details as to what is going on that is forwarded by personnel staffing the real time crime unit.

The drone can assess whether the robbery is still in progress, if the suspects are fleeing, the vehicle they are using, and the direction they are fleeing.

Add stationary cameras places throughout the city, police would have at their disposal crime details as crime happens.

Drones have been used for years by Manteca Police in high priority situations such as the May 2025 In-n-Out incident. That’s where an individual had rammed a vehicle in the drive-thru and was acting aggressively toward employees and other customers.

The drone, in that case, was deployed after officers had arrived on the scene.

Enhances safety &

“expands” manpower

Traditional grid searches looking for suspects can take hours and require a small army of personnel.

Drone-based grid searches can often take place in minutes or even seconds.

Tracking fleeing suspects — such as those leaving the scene of an active burglary or theft — using first responder drones have been cited by departments from San Jose to Fremont as a game changer.

Instead of simply blindly following suspects over fences and such, drones can direct officers to where suspects are heading.

The highest profile use for drones to date in Manteca is arguably for illegal fireworks enforcement around the Fourth of July.

This past year, five drones paired with officers on the ground led to the issuance of 105 citations with more than two thirds attributed to the 23.5 hours of flight time using drones.

On one day alone, drones accounted for 61 of 96 citations.

The fines for illegal fireworks surpassed $130,000 last year.

Drones in Elk Grove allowed that southern Sacramento County to issue 300 citations at $1,000 a pop for $300,000 in fines.

Manteca’s drones

The Manteca Police Department currently has 14 drones in its fleet.

Some are general use while some are designed for indoor or confined space operations.

Two of the drones are able to be flown in inclement weather.

The department has 11 Federal Aviation Administration Part 107-certified drone pilots authorized to use and fly drones.

Last year, Manteca Police conducted nearly 600 individual flights.

Manteca Police, like other departments that use drones, has strict policies on how and when they can be used.

Former San Francisco Mayor London Breed credited first responder drone use as a major factor in crime dropping 35 percent in the city.