Sacramento County will now use drones to find homeless encampments

Emma Hall, The Sacramento Bee on Jun 4, 2025

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento County will begin using drones to locate homeless encampments following authorization from the Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning.

These drones will be used to “enhance community engagement,” between the county’s homeless population and Sacramento County Probation, said Julie Wherry, interim chief probation officer. The goal of the drones is to access areas vehicles can’t, such as remote parts of the American River Parkway.

Wherry said these drones will document the region’s homeless population and clothing, food, water and hygiene products to homeless residents with outreach efforts. An estimated 6,615 homeless people live in Sacramento County, according to the 2024 Point in Time Count.

The drones are a part of Sacramento County Probation equity and inclusion mission, which includes “removing access barriers and serving hard to reach communities,” Wherry added.

“This proposal aligns with several broad strategic priorities, including housing and homelessness,” Wherry said.

Funding for the drones will come from grants, Weary said. Sacramento County Probation staff clarified they will purchase commercial drones, rather than military models. Sacramento County Probation currently has three mobile outreach vans, two four wheel drive trucks and one terrain vehicle.

County supervisors reviewed three other agenda items related to military equipment from multiple Sacramento agencies, including the Department of Regional Parks and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday. These agencies are required to request funding for military equipment to the county because of state law.

Drones for Sacramento sheriff

Sacramento County Sh’s Office requested more drones to increase their collection from 56 to 75. During their presentation, James Petrinovich, the sheriff office’s tactical commander, said the aircrafts and other equipment would be used for search and rescue, “high risk operations” and “community outreach.” The Sheriff’s Office did not clarify how much this purchase would cost in total. A drone used for police purposes can cost between $500 and $50,000, according to Chengdu JOUAV Automation, an international aircraft company.

“Those tools. are used defensively in many situations to make sure that we don’t put an officer in danger, where we could put a robot or a drone for our armored personnel carriers,” Petrinovich said.

In a video shown during the Board of Supervisors meeting, drones were shown going into people’s homes. Petrinovich later clarified drones meet the same search warrant requirements as police officers.

Supervisor Phil Serna expressed concern over the request, saying the Sheriff’s Office is proposing to cut “important programs” during this year’s budget, while also requesting more money toward drones.

“I’m not being accusatory here,” Serna said. “I just want to understand the totality of what the interest of the sheriff’s department is, and what we’re being asked to do?”

Throughout the Sheriff’s Office presentation, Supervisors questioned the fiscal efficiency and accuracy of the proposal. For example, the Sheriff’s Office presented a map of military equipment deployments by zip codes in each supervisor’s district. However, Serna clarified the map could be “misleading,” as county districts are not distinguished by neighboring zip codes.

Keyan Bliss, a Sacramento resident and former city of Sacramento Police Review Commission chair, called the purchasing of military equipment “fiscally irresponsible” and a “waste of a million dollars.” He urged the board to look into the Sheriff Office’s purchases and continue the conversation after budget.

“This board should absolutely reject that and actually declare a moratorium on any further military equipment purchases until the sheriff’s department can prove that it’s actually necessary for ensuring both officer and civilian safety,” Bliss said.

At the end of the meeting, Serna led a motion to revisit the Sheriff’s Office’s request after their budgetary meeting, which will be held Wednesday. The motion passed 3-1, with Supervisor Richard Desmond not in attendance.

Supervisor Rosario Rodriguez was an outlier in the motion’s vote. She said she supports the use of “modern equipment” and “the newest technology” to protect county residents.

“I am very supportive of the usage of drones and other equipment that can help our public safety be more efficient,” Rodriguez said.

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