Police will use drones to follow you home and take pictures as they deploy tech to tackle anti-social behaviour
The drones are armed with state-of-the-art cameras capable of taking high definition pictures and videos from hundreds of metres away
DRONES be used to follow people home and photograph them if they are suspected of anti-social behaviour under new police plans.
New drone units have been deployed to arm officers with eye-in-the-sky technology in a bid to tackle vandals and yobs in the street.
The airborne devices will be used to photograph offenders and can track their movements from hundreds of metres away right to their front doors.
The aerial initiative is currently being trialled by Greater Manchester Police, who are confident the drones will help crackdown on serial wrongdoers.
Superintendent Chris Hill told The Sun Online: “We are looking at utilising new technologies in order to aid frontline policing and safeguard communities.
"As part of this we have trained pilots who are trialling the use of drones to support frontline policing.
"We will make the public aware of any further developments when we are able to.”
But when pushed for more information about how the drones will be able to distinguish between crooks and ordinary citizens, a spokesperson for the force said: "We are in the very early stages, we aren't in a position to provide further details on this."
The initiative was announced at a Police and Communities Together (PACT) meeting in Middleton, Manchester on Wednesday.
Locals have long complained about disruptive troublemakers on bikes in the area and called for tougher police action.
Councillor Phil Burke welcomed the use of drones to target and identify anti-social individuals.
He told the : "You can't see it, you can't hear it but the drones will identify the bikes and follow them back to the address, where the police can seize them and take the appropriate action on individuals - and this is fully supported by the the council."
Police drones are taking to the skies across the country as authorities continue to upgrade their crime fighting tactics.
West Midlands Police launched a new initiative in April, boasting that "new high-tech drones will be keeping on top of crime suspects".
A statement from the force added: "Three new drones, which are fitted with high definition camera and thermal imaging technology, will help cops cover from a higher vantage point of up to 400ft high.
"They will be trialled in Birmingham and used in response to crime trends; helping to spot suspicious behaviour over huge areas."
A spokesperson told The Sun Online: "We currently use drones for a range of things including anti-social behaviour caused by off road bikes."
most read in news
In September, the Metropolitan Police launched a specialist drone into the skies over London as part of an eight week trial to support a number of operations.
The unmanned Aeryon Skyranger drone roamed the capital's airspace for eight weeks, supporting officers with weapon sweeps, suspect searches and finding missing people.
It sent live footage of operational deployments to assists bobbies with decision making and help with pre-planned and spontaneous firearms operations.
According to Civil Aviation Authority rules, drones must be flown within 500m of the pilot.
They cannot fly outside of the pilot's line of sight unless a second pilot is used.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.