UK police nab teen using $30,500 drone
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted February 15th 2010 3:37AM
posted February 15th 2010 3:37AM
Wired recently reported that the UK Home Office is preparing a national fleet of unmanned aircraft, but the surveillance-loving island nation has had a keen interest in drones for quite a while. Now, Merseyside police (who've had a drone of their own for about six months) are bragging about their first ever catch with the new toy. When coppers heard that a suspected car thief was hiding in the bushes, they wasted no time launching their Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with on-board thermal imaging -- which led them to the sixteen year old. In addition to the (alleged) perp, a twenty year old man was arrested in connection with the crime -- but his apprehension was done without aid of the UAV and, as such, not nearly as bad-ass. Both have been released on bail pending further inquiries, and both are believed to be looking into purchasing Parrot AR.Drones for themselves. You gotta fight fire with fire, right?
Update: According to the BBC, the thing cost closer to £40,000 (roughly $63,000). That's still a lot of moneys!
Update: According to the BBC, the thing cost closer to £40,000 (roughly $63,000). That's still a lot of moneys!
Enemy UAV spotted!
Should've launched a Counter-UAV while they had the chance.
@MastaQ
So for $30,500 not including time and training it took them six months to catch a teenager in the bushes. Just think, at this rate in 5 or 10 years jaywalking may become a thing of the past.
@Blackstar
This wasn't some teenager hanging out in the park after dark, it was a suspected car thief. Sure the cost seems high, but most police forces in this situation will call out a helicopter equipped with thermal imaging. Now compare the cost of what is essentially a toy with a fancy camera, and the training to go with that, vs. the cost of a helicopter, training to go with that, and fuel costs for each trip out. Seems quite economical in comparison.
@Blackstar Ah yes, but unfortunately we have no such thing as jaywalking over here :P
Joseph this post is mad funny. i like how you ended it.
this post is tits. ^_^
@MastaQ bet i could take that thing down with a big-enough-rock , 30500 bucks owned by a stone
@Tuckernick If your gonna go out, go out big. "The enemies been EMP'd, their electronics are offline!"
@eBarthelman
Our they could try something really novel like, walking into the bushes.
@MastaQ
I can just imagine it saying, "Yuri's Collection Agency" :P
1984?
@pavelgr
have you even READ 1984? they soo wouldn't of had the imagination to invent UAV's...
...
@pavelgr Oh look at you, you're so clever.
Ironic that Britain is so keen on surveillance but just axed the tv show Big Brother :P
Though that police officer's glasses are the bomb.
@GeorgeRobo
The glasses kinda remind me of Ra-ra-ah-ah-ah! Roma-roma-ma! GaGa-ooh-la-la!
@Cence
Into oblivion, you little yobster!
As a UK citizen all I can say is OMG WE'RE DOOMED!
Sorry dude but I'm more worried about people like you.
Eric Blair is rolling in his grave right now.
Disgusting! There is a extremely bad taste developing inside me for this country. Police ....mark my word.
The masses can only be pushed so far before we rain down on you for all the injustice you serve us.
By the way, these are the words of a extremely devote pacifist.
@sacredgeometry You can't be that devote then...
And surely something that helps prevent/catch criminals is a good thing...
@GeorgeRobo who said i condone violence? it was a prediction, not a threat.
Secondly when the government are what define a criminal then i don't believe that is a good thing no. There are plenty of victimless and moral actions that are considered crimes in this country.
Bundle that with the loss of rights and their increase in power to retain without trial i believe that this is the opposite way to head.
If anything the police department should be stripped of any authority and immunities and just be there to assist us, that is what they where created for.
Someone should get their own remote controlled plane and specially rig up some fireworks to it so you could remote launch them at the big bro spy planes. That would be sooooo much fun! That is until you eventually got caught as well. :(
Cheaper than the usual police helicopter I suppose and quicker than waiting for them to take off and get to you.
@ilh who said i condone violence? it was a prediction, not a threat.
Secondly when the government are what define a criminal then i don't believe that is a good thing no. There are plenty of victimless and moral actions that are considered crimes in this country.
Bundle that with the loss of rights and their increase in power to retain without trial i believe that this is the opposite way to head.
If anything the police department should be stripped of any authority and immunities and just be there to assist us, that is what they where created for.
@ilh crack engadget must have jumped on me whilst i was selecting reply sorry that wasnt inteded for you
To the people who are saying we're losing our privacy, this is no different to using a helicopter, but quieter and safer for the police staff. They're only looking for wrongdoers, obey the law and it won't be a problem.
@Chasethebase There was a time when slavery was "the law".
@Chasethebase Who's law? In the State's you have the top 0.1% earners making law. In the UK you have a bunch of sopps so far removed from reality they think £6.5 million is a reasonable amount of money to audit 650 MPs' expenses claims.
@User Formerly Known as Dave
I AM THE LAW. ok with that out of the way, it's just soo cool. do you think the police will spy on you with it, looking though your windows? And if they were to, just throw a rock at it. big deal.
@Neon11234
Or your collection of porn. That will show them.
@KGB
Witty repartee, i like it.
@avis Got me too. I thought someone pinched one; which would have been more amusing.
Criminals' new weapon of choice; catapult. But I guess if you manged to hit one down from the sky then you'd be on vandalism of police property charges anyway. I think this a a good idea. Police choppers are expensive to the tax payer as well as contributing to carbon emissions. It's a win-win, for the non criminal amongst us anyway...
@m1lt0n
Seriously. You need some help......
Only a UAV? Pfft. Silly British with their billy clubs and unarmed drones.
If it was here in the US, it would have been a Predator drone we sent after the kid, and the bush he was hiding in would be a crater.
We don't take any crap from these punk kids anymore.
:-p
They just keep droning on and on...
Won't be long before those scousers nick the drone itself. ;-p
Sign on, Sign on... With your pen in your hand, Cause you'll never get a job...
I'll be completely honest, I read that as the teenager hijacked the $30,500 UAV, and got caught by the police. That would have been a much cooler story
@rollinstone157 Ditto; I was sorely disappointed. :(
... what happens when gangs of kids figure out the surveillance frequency and hack into the drone's transmission...? :P
Wake up people. This is already happening in America http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tHk9Q3Fv6g
What is up with the UK and big-brother surveillance?
Its not that politicians aren't constantly trying to push this crap (not to mention illegal wire taps) on us, but at least we put up a semblance of a fight to protect our right to privacy. Texas politicians put up a bunch of cameras on the roads, and luckily there was a huge public outcry against it, and now its law that these are illegal. *whew* =)
That headline is far too ambiguous.
The helicopter's just been grounded, as the police don't have a license to fly it. LOL.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/8517726.stm
was any1 else gutted that it wasn't the teen using the drone but the police