First responders in Atlantic City, NJ are planning to acquire a fleet of drones to patrol the city’s 20-mile coast line next summer. The move is intended to enhance their ability to identify dangerous rip tides and to bring more timely assistance to boaters and swimmers in peril.

The Atlantic City Beach Patrol announced its planned drone deployment last week in response to four drownings that occurred over the Labor Day weekend as well periodic shark sightings that have spread fear among beachgoers at the popular tourist locale.

The drones will fly continuously along the coast paying special attention to the area’s notorious riptides that can carry swimmers out to sea and unable to return to shore.

The drones can also identify stranded swimmers and drop flotation devices and other support before lifeguards can arrive by boat to rescue them.

The Beach Patrol is responsible for protecting the millions of tourists that flock to Atlantic City during the summer months but drownings as well as shark sightings have increased in recent years, potentially damaging the locale’s appeal.

“Here in Atlantic City, we have outfall pipes, piers, and jetty’s, and rock piles and that causes rip currents to pop up,” Captain Scott Evans of the patrol service said last week, justifying the drone purchase.

The drones will be equipped with thermal imaging cameras to assist in identifying swimmers as well as a PA system and flotation devices that automatically inflate once they make contact with the water.  First responders say drones will allow them to reach those in trouble quickly, when time is of the essence.

“Shaving just a few minutes off a rescue operation can mean the difference between life and death,” a lifeguard said last week.

Ideally, continuous drone patrols will allow first responders to prevent problems even before they arise, officials said last week.   The drones will fly from dawn to dusk,  providing live feeds to all area agencies, giving them time to warn beachgoers of imminent threats, and suspending access to the area as needed.

Atlantic City’s police and the fire department have been deploying drones since 2018 to help find lost and missing persons and to assist in putting out large fires.  However, this is the first time first responders have deployed drones to conduct operations to support beach goers.

Atlantic City’s decision comes just weeks after first responders in New York City announced plans to begin drone patrols of the area’s coast line after a rare shark attack at Rockaway Beach left a woman severely injured.

First responders in other popular beach locales – in Massachusetts and Florida especially – are also turning to drones, primarily to serve as an early warning against the possibility of shark attacks.

In some cases, beach patrols have replaced their lone gas-powered helicopter with a small fleet of battery-powered drones, which are cheaper to operate and more environmentally sustainable.  Drones can also compensate for staff shortages of lifeguards, who often find themselves overwhelmed when weekend beach-going spikes.

While shark attacks are still rare, sightings up and down the Atlantic Coast increased last summer, and some state officials are taking no chances.

Last May, New York Governor Kathy Altschul authorized the state’s Parks and Recreation Department to acquire a fleet of 10 drones, adding to the 8 already in the agency’s possession.

Last week, the Atlantic City Beach patrol put on a public demonstration of their new drone fleet’s capabilities, in anticipation of a full-scale deployment next summer.

“We want to be ready,” Captain Evans said.