“Unmanned drones are being piloted over private homes by burglars in a bid to identify potential targets,” the UK’s telegraph.co.uk reports. “Detectives fear the mini-helicopters, which can be bought for as little as £30, are being deployed to take surveillance photographs from above, posing a brand new threat to home security. Piloting them over perimeter walls will allow criminals to carry out low-risk reconnaissance around homes which cannot be seen from the public road.” This is not a UK-only phenomena . . .
It reflects a growing trend in the United States where a criminal outfit dubbed the Tub Gang has used drones across New York and New Jersey to identify burglary targets.
Digital footage on one drone recovered by police included stills of properties in Manhattan as well as commercial properties.
A Civil Aviation Authority spokesman said “Drones are subject to aviation rules and regulations and anyone breaching those rules can be prosecuted.”
So it’s illegal! That ought to stop ’em! Back in The Land of Hope and Glory, the Old Bill has advice for the general public wary of malevolent drone surveillance:
Paul Ford, secretary of the Police Federation National Detectives Forum, said: “Drones can be noisy and very visible so hopefully criminals risk giving themselves away.
“If members of the public observe drones being used in areas which make them suspicious they should contact police using the 101 non-emergency number to report it.”
Which will activate crack teams of burglary detectives who’ll run the miscreants to ground, I’m sure. Meanwhile, how long before drone hunting becomes a thing here The Land of the Free and The Home of the Brave? Shotgun? Air gun? Anti-Drone drone? What? [h/t CC]