LAW ENFORCEMENT AWARD For contributions to the promotion and advancement of rotorcraft in support of law enforcement activities Penny Ritter Criminalist, Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, Oakland, California, USA
A 14-year criminalist at the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO), Penny Ritter helped turn the agency’s fledgling small uncrewed aerial system (sUAS) program into an award-winning, nationally recognized initiative that supports not only the county’s work but also that of agencies across California and around the nation. Traditionally, as part of her crime-lab work, Ritter employed laser scanners
to map scenes. Five years ago, the lab commander approached her with a challenge: the sUAS team of eight aircraft and five pilots had received a free trial license to Pix4D, a photogrammetry and drone mapping software. He asked if she’d be interested in learning how to register the Pix4D data the drones captured to provide scene mapping. “I said, ‘Sure. Not a problem,’ ” Ritter recalls with a laugh. “I had no idea how
to use the software and didn’t even know what a drone looked like. He gave me some of the data, and I went to YouTube to watch training videos and took a class. Ten, I started modeling crime scenes and making 2D and 3D maps.” Te maps proved extremely valuable and led to approvals to expand the
team with more equipment and operators. Again, the commander tapped Ritter, this time to help lead the program. She learned to fly and maintain the county’s drones and earned her FAA Part 107 certificate to operate them. She built spreadsheets to track equipment, maintenance, pilot licenses and training, operations, and more. While ACSO is responsible for unincorporated areas of the county, its
Penny Ritter
“Penny is an exceptional asset to ACSO because of her leadership and her willingness to assist public safety agencies around the nation.”
—Paul Liskey, captain, ACSO
team often supports incorporated cities within Alameda County and beyond. Starting with the Tubbs Fire in October 2017, ACSO began using its sUAS assets annually to assist with mapping disaster zones. Ritter’s team also mapped the deadly Camp Fire. For that job, Ritter helped lead a task force of 16 agencies that conducted 518 sUAS flights to collect 70,000 images over 17,000 acres to map the town of Paradise after the tragedy. ACSO credits Ritter with helping locate and arrest countless
dangerous individuals and document many crime scenes. Ritter also assists with crime scene reconstruction, such as for the Hart family murders in Mendocino County in 2018. Ritter led the team that helped search for the victims of the murder–suicide, in which the family vehicle was driven off a 100-ft. cliff. Te team produced an orthomosaic map and 3D model used in the coroner’s inquest. Today, the ACSO sUAS team includes 110 aircraft and 25 pilots. Ritter ensures that all aircraft are up and running, assisting with updates and
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repairs 24/7. She’s also instrumental in helping several other agencies launch and expand their sUAS programs by offering her expertise and support. “Penny is an exceptional asset to ACSO because of her leadership and her willingness to
assist public safety agencies around the nation,” says ACSO captain Paul Liskey. “She not only knows how to safely operate each aircraft ACSO deploys, but she continually offers her time and support to train other team members and local agencies.”
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