Flying Squad gets grounded

MERSEYSIDE POLICE have had their knuckles rapped for arresting a teenager by using surveillance footage from their brand new Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) drone.

According to the Telegraph, the police force hadn't sought permission from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to fly its unmanned drone and is now under investigation by the CAA's aviation regulation enforcement department.

Timing for the coppers was particularly bad as new regulations were announced on 1 January 2010 regarding the dangers of flying UAVs in built-up areas. If the plod do get taken to court, the footage could be deemed inadmissible and the teenager could end up walking away a free man or, well, boy.

After the arrest and CAA interest, an apparently proud but somewhat defensive Chief Inspector Nick Gunatilleke said in a statement, "The force is continually looking to use new technology to help in its fight against crime and these arrests demonstrate the value of having something like the UAV as a resource."

Imagine expensive US military hardware scaled back to the budget of a UK police force and you'll have some idea of the UAV's capabilities - a thermal imaging webcam glued to a remote control toy hovercraft with double-sided sticky tape and Blu-Tack.

The Merseyside police said it won't be flying anything aside from paper planes and Frisbees in the skies of Liverpool until "the appropriate licence has been granted."

In the meantime, the Liverpool fuzz might be considering some alternative options, such as this flying Millennium Falcon unveiled at a US toy fair today. May the force be with them. µ