Santa Cruz County Sheriff | Drones
The Sheriff's Office reports 66 drone deployments in 2024 and 52 in 2025, with a dated log of each flight and its reason, eight aircraft models listed with quantities, and no formal complaints in either year.
At a glance
- Deployments in 2024
- 66 [1]
- Staff hours in 2024
- 332.5 [1]
- Estimated staff expense
- $20,448.75 [1]
- DJI Mavic 3
- Quantity 2, listed at $3,500 [1]
- DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise
- Quantity 2, listed at $3,500 [1]
- DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise (Dual & Zoom)
- Quantity 8, listed at $1,500 to $3,000 [1]
- DJI Matrice 210
- Quantity 1, listed at "approximately $30,000" [1]
- Matrice M30 Thermal
- Quantity 1, listed at $17,065 [1]
- Mavic 3 Thermal
- Quantity 2, listed at $5,998 [1]
- DJI Avata
- Quantity 3, listed at $999, with 2 acquired in 2024 [1]
- DJI AIR 3
- Quantity 3, listed at $1,549, all 3 acquired in 2024 [1]
- Formal complaints
- None. The report states there "have been no formal complaints received by the Sheriff's Office or the Santa Cruz County Office of Inspector General regarding our usage of military equipment." [1]
- Flight log
- Each report carries a dated table of deployments with the equipment, location, reason and result [1] [3]
- Deployments in 2025
- 52, with 369 staff hours [3]
- Fleet change reported for 2025
- DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise "quantity: 5 (3 were decommissioned and will be donated in 2026)" [3]
- Policy
- Policy 606, Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Operations, in the 2022 policy manual [2]
How it happened
- Context
2024 annual military equipment report
The report's deployment table records 66 unmanned aircraft deployments and 332.5 staff hours, "resulting in an estimated staff expense of $20,448.75," and inventories eight models of DJI aircraft with a quantity and a listed cost for each. [1]
- Debate
Community meeting on the 2025 report
The 2025 report records "UAS 52 369" in its deployment table (52 deployments, 369 staff hours), states that "There have been no formal complaints received by the Sheriff's Office or the Santa Cruz County Office of Inspector General regarding our usage of military equipment in 2025," and says "The community meeting is currently scheduled for April 22nd, 2026, at 6:00PM at the Sheriff’s Office Community room." [3]
What the report lists
The office’s 2024 annual military equipment report, filed under AB 481, records unmanned aircraft in its deployment table as “UAS 66 332.5”: 66 deployments and 332.5 staff hours. The report states “332.5 hours of personnel flight time during 2024 resulting in an estimated staff expense of $20,448.75.” Its inventory lists two DJI Mavic 3 at $3,500, two DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise at $3,500, eight DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise (Dual & Zoom) at $1,500 to $3,000, one DJI Matrice 210 at “approximately $30,000,” one Matrice M30 Thermal at $17,065, two Mavic 3 Thermal at $5,998, three DJI Avata at $999 with two of them acquired in 2024, and three DJI AIR 3 at $1,549, all three acquired in 2024. The report also states that there “have been no formal complaints received by the Sheriff’s Office or the Santa Cruz County Office of Inspector General regarding our usage of military equipment.”[1]
The 2025 report and the policy
The 2025 report, served on the office’s AB 481 transparency page, records “UAS 52 369” in its deployment table: 52 deployments and 369 staff hours. Its inventory lists the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise at “quantity: 5 (3 were decommissioned and will be donated in 2026),” and it states that “There have been no formal complaints received by the Sheriff’s Office or the Santa Cruz County Office of Inspector General regarding our usage of military equipment in 2025.” Both reports carry a dated deployment table giving, for each flight, the equipment, location, reason and result, such as “1/14/2024 UAS Green Valley Rd. Suspect Search Deployed”.[3][1]
Policy 606 of the 2022 policy manual governs the program. Its privacy section states: “Absent a warrant or exigent circumstances, operators and observers shall adhere to FAA altitude regulations and shall not intentionally record or transmit images of any location where a person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy (e.g., residence, yard, enclosure).”[2]
What it does not establish
Neither report states a fleet total, and the sum of the model quantities would be our arithmetic rather than the office’s figure, so we leave the rows as rows. How long imagery is kept is not stated in the policy text we read beyond the records retention schedule.
Questions
- How often did the Sheriff's Office fly drones in 2024?
- The 2024 annual military equipment report logs 66 unmanned aircraft deployments and 332.5 staff hours of flight time, at an estimated staff expense of $20,448.75. [1]
- What aircraft does the office list?
- Two DJI Mavic 3, two DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise, eight DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise (Dual & Zoom), one DJI Matrice 210, one Matrice M30 Thermal, two Mavic 3 Thermal, three DJI Avata and three DJI AIR 3. The report gives a quantity and a listed cost for each model. It does not state a fleet total, and we do not add one. [1]
- Have there been complaints about the equipment?
- The report states there "have been no formal complaints received by the Sheriff's Office or the Santa Cruz County Office of Inspector General regarding our usage of military equipment." [1]
- What happened in 2025?
- The 2025 report, served on the office's AB 481 page, records 52 deployments and 369 staff hours, lists the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise at "quantity: 5 (3 were decommissioned and will be donated in 2026)," and states that no formal complaints were received in 2025. [3]
- What rules govern the flights?
- Policy 606 in the 2022 policy manual. Its privacy section says that "Absent a warrant or exigent circumstances, operators and observers shall adhere to FAA altitude regulations and shall not intentionally record or transmit images of any location where a person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy (e.g., residence, yard, enclosure)." [2]
What we do not know
- How long imagery from the aircraft is kept, which Policy 606 leaves to the records retention schedule.
- Whether the three decommissioned aircraft were donated, and to whom.
What you can do
Show up
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What we have documented in Santa Cruz County →Protect yourself
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Surveillance Self-Defense →Sources
- 1. Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, 2024 AB 481 Annual Report · Primary document · accessed · archived copy · our copy (905 KB)
- 2.
- 3. Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, 2025 AB 481 Annual Report, as served on the office's AB 481 transparency page · Primary document · accessed
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