Keep your eyes on the skies! UK police use drones to stop illegal offroad riding

Police in the UK are making use of drones to find and catch motorcyclists riding illegally and anti-socially off-road.

Police drones in the uk

DRONE teams are becoming much more prevalent in UK Police forces, with Coventry, Nottingham and other rural counties turning towards the power of tech to enforce the rules. 

We know the feeling, out for a ride on your ‘adventure’ labelled motorcycle, the local tracks are shut and you fancy a quick blast down the local lanes. You go down an unfamiliar track and find a little turn-in to a tasty piece of land… but you continue past, because you know it’s private property, and you wouldn’t be welcome!

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As we found earlier this year, rural landowners are reporting that motorcycles are “causing devastation” to their livelihoods and heritage, disturbing wildlife and livestock, as well as tearing up the agricultural land. 

Now police in Coventry and the West Midlands are turning to drones to catch people in the act off-road, and Nottinghamshire police have been tasking an off-road bike squad alongside drones to combat illegal off-roading in their area. 

Are there Police drones in your area?

Drones have also been set up for use in Essex, Lancashire, Dorset, Kent… at this stage it’s highly likely that your local rozzers are flying about in your area too. 

As well as giving officers the chance to keep an eye on the illegal off-roading, they can also be used to search for missing people, stolen property (large vehicles and motorcycles), and giving an aerial-image of an area they may be otherwise interested in - for an operation, road-traffic-collision, or overseeing an operation. 

Reminds me of the patented & potential Honda electric bike that could come with a paired drone...