Eye In The Sky: Mission PD Using Technology To Lower Crime Rate
Mission’s crime rate plummeted by 16 percent in the last six months, according to a new report by the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Crime Reporting System.
First Responder Drone Lakota returns home after checking out the parking lot at a Mission business.
Misson police chief Cesar Torres credited the women and men of the department and new technology in cutting the number of offenses. He stepped into the lead position in 2022.
“When I first got here, we were working with about eight officers on the road at any given time,” Torres said. “But I know when we have a strong police presence, crime goes elsewhere, and now we have about 20 officers on patrol.”
About half of the police force resides in Mission, city records show.
In the last four years, the department has propelled itself forward with more use of technology.
“We just started a drone program, and we have 16 pilots,” Torres said. “The drone arrives before our officers do, so when we get there, we know how many suspects we’re looking for and other information.”
Torres said the drones are being used for specific investigations, and they are not on a regular patrol.
“For example, if we get a complaint of drugs being sold out of a home, we can use the drone to gather evidence for a day or two, and then we return with a search warrant,” Torres said. “We purposely make a scene when we go back with a warrant, we want the neighbors to hear us, and we want the Mission community to see us. If you do that in Mission, we’re going to come after you.”
Now, part of that scene includes a new armored vehicle the department received through a $600,000 grant.
A $600,000 grant paid for a new bulletproof vehicle for the police department’s 18-man SWAT team.
“It’s bullet proof for our 18-man SWAT team,” Torres said. “When I started, we didn’t even have radar detectors in the cars. Now we have detectors that talk to us, with very detailed information on the rate of speed of the cars approaching us.”
Mission PD has operated a fleet of drones for about three years, piloted by 16 officers who have acquired certification by the FAA. Equipped with infrared for night time conditions, and red and blue police lights, the drones can follow any suspect anywhere.
The big enchilada is new Drone First Responder named Lakota, which can fly without a pilot once it receives an address. Equipped with red and blue police lights, a siren, and the ability to talk to people on the ground has made a difference, Torres said.
“We had a fight reported and Lakota was sent out and reported to those on the ground that the police were on their way,” Torres said. “They left fast.”
Torres’ team ran a demonstration flight of Lakota for the Progress Times, which traveled to a nearby business in about a minute. From the communication center deep within the police department, Torres’ team zoomed in on a face in the parking lot with such detail, they could identify the person if needed. Lakota shares the video live with the chief’s cell phone and patrol units.
“I can’t put a price on public safety,” Torres said. “We use forfeiture funds and grant money wherever we can. We just got a grant for $300,000 to pay for overtime because I don’t want that cost to impact our residents.
“When you reduce crime, it brings rooftops to Mission, it brings business here,” Torres said.
Despite all of the new equipment, Torres said his number one asset is his team, referring to police personnel as the secret ingredient in the department’s barbecue sauce.
“We have a crime analyst now,” Torres said. “For example, a woman reported her car stolen, it turned out that her granddaughter took the car, but she never called us back to let us know the car wasn’t really stolen. The crime analyst checks all those details and corrects the stats.”
Another issue which can affect statistics and optics is the outlying areas of the citrus city.
“If you go to 14 mile line, 10 miles north of Mission, those people living there have Mission addresses because they need that for mail or a driver’s license, but they’re not part of our city,” Torres said. “You’ll often see on the news that there was a shooting or some other crime in Mission, but then the sheriff’s office is the one taking the report and that tells you that it’s not our jurisdiction. We respond to calls within our city limits and to the north, that’s Three Mile Line.”
And if you’re wondering about the newest police cars which drive around with solid red and blue lights on that are not blinking, Torres said that detail is known as cruise lights.
“You can see the unit coming from a mile away because of those lights,” Torres said. “The lights aren’t blinking, and the officer is not on an emergency call. We want you to see us. We see you, and we want you to put on your seatbelt, put down your phone and slow down.”
