CISA Critical Infrastructure Sector
Emergency services
Law enforcement, fire and EMS agencies occupy a distinct position in the air domain. Their facilities and personnel are a protected asset like any other sector, and since mid-2026 a certified agency can also be the entity authorized to act against a drone threat. Both roles need to be planned for.
Where The Exposure Is
Four things that make this sector different.
DUAL ROLE
An agency’s own stations, staging areas and command posts are a protected facility. Under SAFER SKIES, a certified agency can also become the authority that responds to a drone threat elsewhere. Planning has to address both.
INCIDENT SCENE EXPOSURE
Active incident scenes, from a barricaded subject to a mass casualty response, draw both curious and hostile drone activity. Existing procedures may not address either.
CERTIFICATION GATE
Acting against a drone threat under SAFER SKIES requires FBI National Counter-UAS Training Center certification and use of technology on the federal Authorized Technologies List. Until an agency is certified, it is limited to detection methods that do not require the Act’s authority, and to coordination.
MUTUAL AID COMPLEXITY
A regional incident can bring in agencies at different certification levels and with different authority. A shared airspace picture and a common reporting standard matter more here than in most sectors.
Regulatory Context
Agency drone programs fly as public aircraft under an FAA Certificate of Waiver or Authorization or under Part 107, and the FAA Special Governmental Interest process provides fast approval for emergency flights, including inside temporary flight restrictions. Under the SAFER SKIES Act (FY2026 NDAA, Pub. L. 119-60), codified at 6 U.S.C. 124n, state, local, tribal and territorial law enforcement and correctional agencies may detect and, once certified, mitigate credible drone threats.
The DOJ and DHS interim final rule (6 CFR Part 124 and 28 CFR Part 124, effective July 1, 2026) requires certification through the FBI National Counter-UAS Training Center in two tiers, Detection and Warning, and Mitigation, along with an operations plan, FAA coordination and post-operation reporting, through December 31, 2031. A DVRA informs the threat picture behind an agency’s operations plan, and ClearPoint’s training supports personnel working toward certification. ClearPoint never operates mitigation on an agency’s behalf.
How An Engagement Applies Here
The same four pillars, scoped to this environment.
Common questions
Has ClearPoint worked with organizations in this sector?
This page describes how our method applies to the environment, not a client list. ClearPoint does not publish client or engagement records.
What does an engagement here usually start with?
A DVRA. It establishes what is actually flying over stations, staging areas and common incident sites, and where detection or reporting procedure has a gap before an agency puts an operations plan or certification package together.
Does ClearPoint provide the FBI National Counter-UAS Training Center certification?
No. That certification is issued by the FBI and is required for an agency to exercise SAFER SKIES detection and mitigation authority. ClearPoint’s C-UAS Certifications are ClearPoint training certificates that build personnel competency and support an agency’s path toward that federal certification. They are not a substitute for it.
Can ClearPoint help us build our operations plan for certification?
A DVRA produces the threat profile, site baseline and gap register that inform the operational picture behind an operations plan. The certification submission itself, and the authority it grants, remain the agency’s and the FBI’s.
Can you stop a drone over our facility?
No. In the United States, mitigating a drone is limited to federal agencies with statutory authority and, since July 2026, to state and local law enforcement and correctional agencies certified under the SAFER SKIES Act. ClearPoint does not mitigate. ClearPoint detects, tracks, assesses, documents, trains and coordinates with the agencies that hold that authority.
Start with the decision you need to make.
Whether you’re evaluating drone risk or ready to assess a specific site, we’ll help you identify the next step.