Back from the battlefield: domestic drones in the UK

Co-published by Statewatch and Drone Wars UK, the report examines the use of drones use by both public and private bodies. The main body of the research examines the use of drones by police forces and border control authorities and argues that public discussion and debate is needed before the use of drones – in particular for surveillance purposes – becomes widespread.

Due to a lack of safety guarantees and regulatory framework the use of drones in the UK remains limited, particularly amongst public authorities, although there are moves to introduce them more widely. Use by law enforcement authorities remains limited, although evidence gathered for the report suggests that the Serious Organised Crime Agency, the predecessor to the National Crime Agency, may have acquired the use of drone technology in late 2012.

Currently it is private companies dealing with surveying, mapping, photography, filming and safety inspection that use the vast majority of drones licensed for operation within UK airspace. However, as technology develops and becomes more widely available this is likely to change, and various attempts are being made to drive this development and capitalise on what is perceived as a significant market for ‘civil’ drones.

The report examines, in turn: law and regulation surrounding the use of domestic drones, in particular as regards surveillance; funding from UK and EU institutions aimed at the development of drone technology and regulation; the use of drones by police forces; the use of drones for border control purposes; and the use of drones by private companies and individuals.

Co-published in 27 May 2013 by Statewatch and Drone Wars UK.

• Full report: Back from the battlefield: domestic drones in the UK (pdf, hard copies available)
• Annexes (pdf)
• Press release (pdf / html)
• Background documentation: key source materials and responses to Freedom of Information requests

Sources and documentation This page contains links to a selection of reports and documentation used as sources for the report Back from the battlefield: domestic drones in the UK. It lists reports and analyses produced by NGOs, official policy documents, and documents released by the police in response to Freedom of Information requests along with other official documents such as presentations. The report also references dozens of news articles, press releases and other material not reproduced here. The full report and its annexes are available online here, or you can order hard copies. Reports, analysis and policy Responses to FOI requests/official documents Policing Association of Chief Police Officers of England & Wales Police forces: England Police forces: Wales Police forces: Scotland Police forces: Northern Ireland Police forces: non-geographic Border control South Coast Partnership 3i project Home Office

Reports, analysis and policy
Air Navigation: The Order and the Regulations	Civil Aviation Authority	January 2010
Autonomous Systems: Opportunities and Challenges for the UK	Aerospace, Aviation & Defence Knowledge Transfer Network	30 June 2012
Background note on the civil use of drones in the UK	All-Party Parliamentary Group on Drones	June 2013
Borderline: The EU’s New Border Surveillance Initiatives	Ben Hayes and Matthias Vermeulen	June 2012
Briefing to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Drones	Sam Smith (Privacy International)	June 2013
Eurodrones, Inc.	Ben Hayes, Chris Jones and Eric Toepfer	February 2014
Freedom from Suspicion: Surveillance Reform for a Digital Age	JUSTICE	October 2011
Guns, Debt and Corruption: Military spending and the EU crisis	Frank Slijper	April 2013
NeoConOpticon	Ben Hayes	2009
Shelling Out: UK Government Spending on Unmanned Drones	Drone Wars UK	September 2012
Surveillance Camera Code of Practice	UK Home Office	June 2013
The Aerial Gaze: Regulating Domestic Drones in the UK	Lachlan Urquhart	March 2013
The Manufacture of “Surveillance by Consent”	No CCTV	March 2013
The UK Approach to Unmanned Systems	UK Ministry of Defence	March 2011
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Unmanned Aerial Systems Briefing	Big Brother Watch	June 2013
Unmanned Aircraft System Operation in UK Airspace – Guidance	Civil Aviation Authority	August 2011

Responses to FOI requests/official documents Policing

Association of Chief Police Officers of England and Wales (ACPO)

ACPO Unmanned Aerial Systems Steering Group 24 February 2010: Agenda | Minutes 8 June 2010: Agenda | Minutes 15 September 2010: Agenda | Minutes 5 May 2011 Agenda | Minutes 12 October 2011: Agenda | Minutes 16 May 2012: Agenda | Minutes 9 October 2012: Agenda | Minutes 13 June 2013: Agenda | Minutes 29 August 2013: Letter in response to FOI request   ACPO/Home Office Alan Brooke, ACPO Operational Requirement for UAS Alan Brooke, Emergency Services Applications Other documents Alan Featherstone, Letter requesting information on a single point of contact (SPOC) for UAS, 26 June 2012 Draft terms of reference for police unmanned aerial systems (UAS), undated Back to top

Police forces: England

Avon & Somerset Response to FOI request, 7 November 2013 Compilation of FOI requests and responses, 2012 Chief Office Group Minutes, 25 March 2011 Bedfordshire Responses to FOI requests: 16 August 2013, 28 December 2012, 6 June 2012, 13 July 2009 Cambridgeshire Responses to FOI requests: 8 August 2013, 23 October 2012, 31 August 2012, 28 May 2012 Cheshire Responses to FOI requests: 5 August 2013, 1 November 2012, 7 September 2012, 8 June 2012, 30 January 2012, 13 January 2011 City of London Response to FOI request, 14 August 2013 Cleveland Response to FOI request, 16 August 2013 Cumbria Response to FOI request, 9 August 2013 Derbyshire Responses to FOI requests: 5 September 2013, 6 August 2013 Devon & Cornwall Response to FOI request, 12 August 2013 Dorset Responses to FOI requests: 24 September 2013, undated 2012 Minutes of the force executive board meeting, 11 March 2009 Durham Response to FOI request, 1 August 2013 Essex Police Authority/Finance & Audit Committee minutes, 13 February 2012 Finance & Audit Committee minutes: 19 September 2011, 19 May 2008, 17 March 2008 Gloucestershire Responses to FOI requests: August 2013, November 2012 Greater Manchester Response to FOI request, August 2013 Hampshire Responses to FOI requests: 8 September 2013, undated 2012 Hertfordshire Response to FOI request, 25 July 2013 Humberside Response to FOI request, 15 August 2013 Kent Response to FOI request, 16 August 2013 Strategic Independent Advisory Group minutes, 25 January 2010 Lancashire Response to FOI request, 14 August 2013 Leicestershire Responses to FOI requests: 13 August 2013, 9 February 2012, 1 January 2011 Lincolnshire Response to FOI request, 15 August 2013 Merseyside Responses to FOI requests: 2010 (undated), 2012a (undated), 2012b (undated), 2012c (undated), September 2013, September 2013 additional documents Business Management Group minutes, 1 January 2009 Metropolitan Police Service Responses to FOI requests: 2012a (undated), 2012b (undated), 22 August 2013 Norfolk Responses to FOI requests: January 2011, January 2012, June 2012, December 2013, 14 August 2013 North Yorkshire Responses to FOI requests: January 2011, May 2012, 11 August 2013 Northamptonshire Response to FOI request, 11 August 2013 Northumbria Responses to FOI requests: 7 June 2011, 10 September 2012, 13 December 2013, 1 May 2013, 5 August 2013 Nottinghamshire Responses to FOI requests: 28 September 2012, 3 January 2013, 7 May 2013, 8 August 2013 South Yorkshire Responses to FOI requests: 30 January 2012, 1 August 2013 Staffordshire Responses to FOI requests: 15 August 2013, 18 September 2013 Annual reports: 2009, 2010 Suffolk Responses to FOI requests: 2011 (undated), 2012 (undated), August 2013 Surrey Response to FOI request, September 2013 Thames Valley Response to FOI request, 13 August 2013 Warwickshire Responses to FOI requests: 2009 (undated), 14 August 2013 West Mercia Responses to FOI requests: 2011 (undated), 2 August 2013 West Midlands Response to FOI request, 30 August 2013 West Yorkshire Responses to FOI requests: 28 August 2009, 24 February 2011, 1 August 2012, 18 October 2012, 18 September 2013 Wiltshire Response to FOI request: 15 August 2013 Wiltshire and Swindon Local Resilience Forum: Exercise Equinox, 26th and 27th September 2008 debrief report, January 2009 Back to top

Police forces: Wales

Dyfed-Powys Responses to FOI requests: 2011 (undated), 2012a (undated), 2012b (undated), 2012c (undated), 14 August 2013 Gwent Response to FOI request, 7 August 2013 North Wales Responses to FOI requests: 15 July 2009, 26 January 2011, 5 August 2013 South Wales Responses to FOI requests: 3 February 2012, 26 June 2012, 20 September 2012, 19 August 2013 Back to top

Police forces: Scotland

Police Scotland Response to FOI request, 15 August 2013 Back to top

Police forces: Northern Ireland

Police Service of Northern Ireland Responses to FOI requests: 2009 (undated), 2012a (undated), 2012b (undated), 3 September 2013 Back to top

Police forces: non-geographic

British Transport Police Responses to FOI requests: 2012 (undated), August 2013 Civil Nuclear Constabulary Responses to FOI requests: 2012 (undated), 26 July 2013 Port of Dover Police Response to FOI request, 24 July 2013 National Crime Agency (formerly the Serious Organised Crime Agency) Tender documents related to SOCA’s signing of a contract with Selex Galileo (see report chapter ‘Secret surveillance?’): Prior information notice, July 2010 Contract notice, July 2011 Contract award, December 2012 Back to top

Border control South Coast Partnership Documents released following FOI requests, 2010: Freedom of Information disclosure – Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Back to top 3i project EU funding: List of the beneficiaries of all calls for proposals cofinanceed by the European Regional DEvelopment Fund (ERDF) through the INTERREG IV A 2 Seas crossborder cooperation Programme, 4 May 2012 3i ‘kick off’ event, 21 June 2012: program and presentation Summary of principles, September 2012 Back to top Home Office Response to FOI request, 27 August 2013 Back to top