It’s not clear in US law, Mackler says, where a householder’s airspace ends and FAA-governed civilian airspace begins. Indeed, that has led to Mackler attempting to clarify drone airspace law after one of his clients had his drone shot down by a neighbour – and a federal judge let the shooter get away with it. At Seattle's 2016 Pride parade, for instance, a woman suffered concussion after a drone smashed into a building and dropped on her.Īnd, of course, the drone's potential for invasion of privacy is profound, leading some people to shoot them down with all the risks public firearms use entails. Crowds at football matches, concerts and protest marches have been regularly buzzed and endangered, too. The need for drone-specific law enforcement extends to civilian safety, too. Civilian commercial drones are now being used by terrorist organisations and the fact that they are being weaponised makes forensics all the more critical." He knows the risks more than most: he’s a former US Army helicopter pilot who flew missions alongside military drones in Iraq. "Drone forensics are becoming increasingly important as more drones take to the air. This is where the drone detectives come in.Īll these issues are adding up to a need for more investigative tools, says James Mackler, an attorney specialising in drone litigation at Mackler Law Firm in Nashville, Tennessee. And the drone contained valid flight data that had not been erased or otherwise tampered with.īut how can a criminal pilot be identified when, say, only a drone is found at a crime scene? Or when only fragments from wreckage are found? Or when only a controller or phone is found, or when police have a likely pilot suspect but no drone? While Kelly's case was rare in that the pilot, the drone and the smartphone/controller combination used to operate it were all captured together. This makes the identification of the drone pilot crucial for law enforcement. Not to mention they can fly over walls and barriers, complicating the operations of institutions ranging from government buildings to airports. Drones deliver much more than drugs to jailbirds: they've been used to fly in mobile phones, hacksaw blades, knives, Sim cards, USB drives and DVD players. ![]() There’s a reason drone activity has piqued the interest of law enforcement. Just a few months ago, it was announced that the UK Prison Service and police are pooling resources to stop drone pilots from flying drugs and other contraband into British prisons, with reports suggesting that £3m could be spent on the new task force. That’s why more police forces are turning to drone forensics teams: it might sound like the TV programme CSI, but it’s a growing trend of more detectives whose jobs it is to track down flyers of rogue drones. Plus, governments are struggling to legislate fast enough to keep pace with burgeoning criminal possibilities. Drones are cheap, easy to fly, and widely available to consumers nowadays. ![]() Identifying the pilots of remotely-controlled drones is not always easy.
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