It was bound to happen sooner or later. After a certain period of consultation, the UK government has announced that it will introduce draft legislation for addressing dangerous or criminal use of drones. This new piece of legislation will not only allow the police to order operators to ground their drones in serious situations, it will also allow officials to seize control of drone parts to prove criminal offenses.

In addition to introducing new police powers, the new legislation will also include registration plans for drones that weight 250 grams or more, safety awareness tests for drone operators and other safety measures designed to prevent drone-related accidents. Although such measures are still being studied, local officials are pushing for stricter enforcement to prevent future risks and accidents.

Although the UK already has a drone code for encouraging drone pilots to fly safely, it hasn’t prevented situations where drones nearly collided with aircraft and other critical infrastructure.  Due to these cases, the UK government is convinced that it needs to introduce new laws and powers to local law enforcement.

There is even talk of banning drones from airports, and preventing pilots from flying their drones beyond 400 feet. Additionally, there is also concern that drones are being used to smuggle contraband into prisons. To address such concerns, the UK government has announced that it continues to work closely with drone manufacturers to integrate geofencing technology in order to prevent drones from entering areas where they are not allowed. Additionally, there will also be measures to increase drone operator training, drone safety awareness as well as the creation of no-fly zones for drones.

In addition to drafting new drone legislation, the UK government is also planning to fund a drone innovation project. This project is meant to act as a Research &Development project for using drone tech to transform critical services, such as emergency health services, organ transportation, infrastructure assessment, logistics, surveying projects and much others. The funding for these research initiatives will be provided by participating cities and organizations.

So far, up to five cities have pledged their support for this initiative, and in exchange, these cities will receive government support as part of what’s being called the “Flying High Challenge.” This project is under the supervision of Nesta in collaboration with the Innovate UK agency, and will act as a key driver for drone innovation.