First Advisor

Melissa Thompson

Term of Graduation

Summer 2026

Date of Publication

8-24-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.) in Sociology

Department

Sociology

Language

English

Subjects

Officer behavior, Police culture, Police technology, Policing

Physical Description

1 online resource (ii, 48 pages)

Abstract

With the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) adopting drone technology in 2024 as a tactical tool, officers have begun to experience change in the way they approach their roles as they learn to work in conjunction with this new technology. Known as the Unmanned Aerial Support program (UAS), this drone program is embedded into PPB's patrol unit. The recency of the program offers an opportunity to examine how a new program using new technology builds its culture and impacts the perspectives and behaviors of its participating officers. By interviewing officers and conducting field observations of the officers and drones in action, this study aims to explore these characteristics and dynamics in greater detail to answer the questions: 1) how has UAS' culture developed within PPB's existing culture? 2) How has UAS impacted the perceptions and behaviors of its participating officers? Results show that UAS developed its culture by creating normative orders that were complementary to those of PPB, and encouraging culture to take root in its participating officers through emphasis on repeated behaviors and camaraderie. Participation in UAS impacted respondents' perceptions of their roles and relationship to officer safety through the use of drones. Respondents emphasized the importance of adding value to PPB through their role as a drone pilot, and indicated that they felt more mentally removed from a scene that they were watching with a drone. However, they appeared to feel an increased responsibility for officer safety in their role as a drone pilot.

Rights

© 2026 Eiryn Renouard

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/45118

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