More police powers over airport dr ones
TRANSPORT: Police will be given more powers and resources to crack down on illegal drone use to avoid a repeat of the chaos caused at airports.
As part of the plans, a mobile “counter-drone” unit equipped with technology to track down and interfere with the devices will be set up to respond to incidents across the UK.
POLICE WILL be given more powers and resources to crack down on illegal drone use in a bid to avoid a repeat of the chaos caused at airports.
As part of the plans, a mobile “counter-drone” unit equipped with technology to track down and interfere with the devices will be set up to respond to incidents across the UK.
The move could also help tackle the use of drones to bring drugs, weapons, phones and other contraband into jails.
Drone sightings at Gatwick in December caused around 1,000 flights to be cancelled or diverted over 36 hours, affecting more than 140,000 passengers in the run-up to Christmas.
A number of other airports have been forced to suspend flights for several hours due to drone activity this year, including Heathrow. The ideas are part of a Government plan to “deter, detect and disrupt the misuse of drones”, the Home Office said.
The police powers will be set out in the Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Bill, which was announced in the Queen’s Speech and is due to be presented to Parliament, while other pledges have been set out in a counter-drone strategy.
A document setting out the plan said: “Our aim will be to stop malicious and illegal drone use as early as possible, ideally before a drone is used in a crime.
“The Government will consider what further product standards or restrictions within the drone sector could reduce risks associated with the misuse of drones without disproportionately affecting legitimate users, setting new international standards.”
Work would be carried out with behavioural scientists, law enforcement, and “at-risk” sites to find the best ways of deterring people from using drones maliciously, the strategy said, adding: “We will encourage the public to report instances of drone misuse and equate wider vigilance campaigns with suspicious drone use, as much as other terrorist or criminal activity.
“By better publicising prosecutions for drone offences we will make it harder for people to claim ignorance when prosecuted.”
International design standards for manufacturers to fit drones with safety features will also be set. The unmanned aircraft industry is expected to contribute an extra £42bn to the UK economy by 2030, with more than 76,000 drones expected to be in use by this date, according to the Home Office. But latest figures showed there were 168 police recorded drone incidents in England and Wales in 2018 and 165 drones were found in prisons in 2016 and 2017, according to the department.
And the UK Airprox Board said there were 125 near-misses between drones and aircraft reported in 2018, up by more than a third on the total of 93 during the previous year.
Our aim will be to stop malicious drone use as early as possible. Home Office document setting out Government plans.