The survey results have prompted Professor Sampson to call urgently for police to be given guidance in key areas including the security and handling of data gathered on drone missions, and arrangements for external scrutiny of the propriety and ethics of drone deployments.

To help us improve GOV.UK, we’d like to know more about your visit today. Please fill in this survey (opens in a new tab).

Police forces in the UK routinely use drones equipped with high-definition cameras, night vision or thermal imaging capability. Some record sound as well as images.

Use this service to order a company certificate with certified information about the company. A certificate can be used to prove that a company is incorporated, and that no action is being taken to remove the company from the register.

But like any potentially intrusive technology that can be used to watch and collect information about people, there must be consistent good practice, sensible controls, and ethical oversight in relation to how they are used.

A new survey by the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner has revealed areas of concern around data security and accountability.

Use this service to order a certified copy of a document from the company's filing history. You can also use this service to order an incorporation package, which includes the documents that were issued when the company was formed.

The use of drones in policing will only expand in the years to come so now is the time to put some sensible practical guidance in place. I have made a series of recommendations. It is not rocket science, but if implemented they should at least put drone usage by police forces in England and Wales on a firmer footing.

Hundreds of high-tech police drones are flying thousands of missions across the UK, but a new survey by the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner has revealed areas of concern around data security and accountability.

Guidance needs to be made available to forces on the procurement and deployment of surveillance technology from companies whose trading history and engagement with accountability frameworks has raised significant concern and the attendant risks.

Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner Professor Fraser Sampson wrote to all police forces in England and Wales asking for details about how they operate their drone fleets. Responses were received from 36 (77%) of the 47 police forces. Three of the 36 said they did not operate drones.

We’d like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services.

There is no doubt that drones can be a useful tool in police efforts to detect and deter crime. Modern drones are small, stealthy and highly capable information gathering tools that can reach places that officers and other equipment cannot.

Our survey showed that practice among police forces in England and Wales is patchy at best, and that there is a clear need for coherent consistent guidance to be provided.

We use cookies to make our services work and collect analytics information. To accept or reject analytics cookies, turn on JavaScript in your browser settings and reload this page.

Guidance is needed on how to mitigate UAV-specific security risks, such as hacking and the use of counter-UAV technology.