Change in the Policing of 'Drones'

[g4uvz]

Today I attended a seminar at Yeovilton aimed specifically at improving flight safety of General Aviation (GA) and Military operations.

It was a most enlightening day..multiple presentations from a variety of camps including CAA and NATS.

One of the sessions inevitably considered drone activity ..Discussions were polite and measured but the Naval aviators cited two recent cases where there rotary traffic had had close encounters with models...one in Cornwall where a heli out of Culdrose had come within 50 of a 'drone' and one this month where another rotary wing had seen a model glider NE of Bristol at 2000ft

One interesting fact which came out was how transgressions of the air navigation order are to be dealt with in the future.

In the past issues have been dealt with by the CAA which has been a protracted process resulting in a handful of prosecutions and warnings.

In the future  following a complaint this will be dealt with by the local police who are viewed as being in a more appropriate position to act on complaints.

As I understand it they will be briefed on the legality of 'drone flying' in built up areas, public events and on the privacy issues of using a camera in an area where you

have not been invited!

[Billy_boy_2010]

Interesting.

But the police must be bothered with loads of calls about people flying drones. They will have to develop a screening method to decide if it's worth attending the incident.

1) are they posing a threat of endangering people or property?
2) are they acting in a suspicious way or visable invading your privacy?

If it's no to both the above I don't think they would bother to attend. Otherwise everyone flying in a park or field will get a visit.

[elmattbo]

More specifically, it will be:

Is there a breach of the ANO?
Is there a breach of the data protection act?


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[Gundummy]

mmmm

Policeman having Coffee and donuts.....

"PC157 - there has been a drone flying over local housing blah blah blah"

PC157 turns off his radio and continues drinking coffee....

[g4uvz]

Billyboy / Elmatt..
You have summed up the situation exactly, as I understand it ..The case of the guy who persists in fly drones at football matches was cited   his case comes up next Thursday ...he has multiple transgressions warnings etc etc just carries on ..bit like the uninsured un-licenced motorists !
A

[BigT]

It depends on the police force, remember that we do not have a National or Federal Police Force, unlike the majority of nations in the EU. Eg Gardia Civil, Bundespolizei etc.. This means that there is a great deal of autonomy for Chief Constables and the DPP.

For example an urban myth is that you are allowed a 10 % error to exceed a speed limit. This in fact is not law but some chief constables have decided that they will allow it if the area is not particularly dangerous.

I guess that where a "drone" (I hate that title) is being flown in a high risk area such as a major airport, motorway, large public gathering, military base, power station, nuclear storage facility, or over an area of high social demographics (council tax band E+ for example) they will take immediate action and send out the armed area car or FART. ( fast action response team).

Out side these incidents they will probably down grade the threat and priority and send out a civilian Hobby Bobby or wooden top. In the large city next to my village, across the border into the next county you cannot even get a copper round if you've been burglarised unless there was personal injury!  In my village 3 miles away you would get CSI and CID within the hour. Different county, different budget, different Chief Constable.

Of course there will be a few heavy handed examples made, and where property is damaged or there is personal injury then  prosecutions will follow.  And rightly so in my opinion.


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[Skipper Billy]

The response will probably depend upon where you live.

In a high crime area my car was attacked in broad daylight in a busy area (I had popped into a shop) - windows smashed, bike nicked, TomTom nicked - several people saw it and gave me a description of the people and the reg no of the car the people used - called the police - waited 3 hours - called again - and was told they assumed that I just wanted  an incident number for insurance purposes and that they had no intention of sending anyone out or of investigating a 'minor theft' - 3 grands worth of damage, loss of no claims bonus and a 300 mile drive with two windows missing and the loss of over a grands worth of gear wasnt 'minor' to me !!! I cant see the police investigating a 'drone' incident ???

Where I live you can hold a reign of terror with a balloon on a stick - the local bobby knows everyone and would probably turn up if someone reported a 'drone' but probably out of interest and to see if he can have a 'go' !!

I fear it is only a matter of time before a serious incident is caused by one of us though - there are a lot of daft folk about !!

[Billy_boy_2010]

I fear it is only a matter of time before a serious incident is caused by one of us though - there are a lot of daft folk about !!

I don't even know how daft you have to be to have an accident tbh. Daft certainlyhelps, but bad luck could play a part. 

Even if you're flying your craft well within fpv laws in a park, all you need is someone to fire up their broadband booster in a caravan and your drone will go ape and potentially fly 1 mile away before dropping out of the sky. Then all it has to do is hit some immigrant kid or a moving car which then crashes into a pregnant mum and all hell would break loose. A plane being flown 400 feet up could easily glide 1 km onto the nearest A road if it lost signal.

Or what about a craft that crashes, loses Tx control,  the motors go mental trying to fly itself home whilst it's on the ground,  and a kid touches it and loses a finger. 

[FPVSteve]

Or what about a craft that crashes, loses Tx control,  the motors go mental trying to fly itself home whilst it's on the ground,  and a kid touches it and loses a finger. 

This is why I put a "Propeller Hazard - Stay Away From the Aircraft" sticker on my SkyWalker ... ridiculous, but just in case...

[BigT]

Even if you're flying your craft well within fpv laws in a park
[/quote]
That's a non sequitur. Read the ANO and CAP 658.


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[Njoro]

I fear it is only a matter of time before a serious incident is caused by one of us though - there are a lot of daft folk about !!

I have a neighbour who is well connected to the local police and with no less than two brothers and his wife being in the force.
He bought a Phantom 2 from Maplins; which came without the CAA warning leaflet. I get on with him quite well and so when I saw him flying out side his house and over my car and other property I meandered up to him and engaged him in jovial chatter while he showed off his new toy.

His wife and a female police officer both in police uniform came around the corner and stood next to me and we watched the Phantom fly up and down the cul-de-sac.

When he landed I said "you do realise that you have broken the CAA, ANO regulation"? And you may have committed what could be a criminal offence in a court! The police officer actually sneered and said we are just having a bit of fun and there is no such thing.

I was invited in for a cup of tea so as to be shown more closely his new toy which was a great opportunity to explain more fully the ANO regulation, but he really wasn't interested and seemed to think I'm making it all up.

One of the many questions that he asked, since he knows I build and fly Quads was "how high do you think my Quad could go"? Well I answered, "Put it this way your Quad could fly straight up to 10'000FT where it might be sucked into the intake of a low flying jet with 250 souls onboard"? "Think about It" I said. "Oh I see he snorted".

He still flies his Quad in the street despite my backing up everything I shared with him and issuing him with the CAA leaflet on safe model flying, I also invited him to join us just 3 miles away from home to fly in three huge fields, to which he never has.

Whenever he flies in the street I no longer "join" him for a chat because it feels as though I'm condoning it....

Fly safe all.

[BigT]

I fear it is only a matter of time before a serious incident is caused by one of us though - there are a lot of daft folk about !!

I have a neighbour who is well connected to the local police and with no less than two brothers and his wife being in the force.
He bought a Phantom 2 from Maplins; which came without the CAA warning leaflet. I get on with him quite well and so when I saw him flying out side his house and over my car and other property I meandered up to him and engaged him in jovial chatter while he showed off his new toy.

His wife and a female police officer both in police uniform came around the corner and stood next to me and we watched the Phantom fly up and down the cul-de-sac.

When he landed I said "you do realise that you have broken the CAA, ANO regulation"? And you may have committed what could be a criminal offence in a court! The police officer actually sneered and said we are just having a bit of fun and there is no such thing.

I was invited in for a cup of tea so as to be shown more closely his new toy which was a great opportunity to explain more fully the ANO regulation, but he really wasn't interested and seemed to think I'm making it all up.

One of the many questions that he asked, since he knows I build and fly Quads was "how high do you think my Quad could go"? Well I answered, "Put it this way your Quad could fly straight up to 10'000FT where it might be sucked into the intake of a low flying jet with 250 souls onboard"? "Think about It" I said. "Oh I see he snorted".

He still flies his Quad in the street despite my backing up everything I shared with him and issuing him with the CAA leaflet on safe model flying, I also invited him to join us just 3 miles away from home to fly in three huge fields, to which he never has.

Whenever he flies in the street I no longer "join" him for a chat because it feels as though I'm condoning it....

Fly safe all.

Video him and send the video to his Chief Constable or the Daily Mail along with a copy of the ANO and CAP 658.

Then put your house on the market and change your name