{"id":1108,"date":"2015-11-20T09:54:32","date_gmt":"2015-11-20T09:54:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/law-news\/?p=1108"},"modified":"2016-01-04T10:59:37","modified_gmt":"2016-01-04T10:59:37","slug":"dr-alan-mckenna-interviewed-by-bbc-watchdog-on-drone-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/law-news\/dr-alan-mckenna-interviewed-by-bbc-watchdog-on-drone-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr Alan McKenna interviewed by BBC Watchdog on drone use"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kent drone law expert Dr Alan McKenna confirmed his support for a compulsory drone registration scheme in an interview featured on\u00a0the BBC 1\u2019s flagship consumer affairs programme, Watchdog<\/a> last night.<\/p>\n

The programme, (available to watch again on BBC iPlayer<\/a>), featured an interview with Dr McKenna as part of a segment exploring the need for a registration scheme. The call for drones to be registered comes after police forces across the UK have reported a large\u00a0increase in the\u00a0number of complaints being made. Dr McKenna’s interview was also included in a news item aired\u00a0earlier in the evening on\u00a0BBC News at Six.<\/p>\n

Dr Alan McKenna’s expertise in law and the use of drones has been much in demand by media outlets across the UK in recent months.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week he was interviewed live on BBC Radio Kent Breakfast<\/a>\u00a0(2:28:24 into the programme)\u00a0following news that Kent Police could start using drones from as early as next year to help fight crime and search for missing people. In his interview Dr McKenna said it was important for\u00a0Kent Police to actively engage with the public to reassure them about how the drones are going to be flown. He said that that the police will still have to discuss drone usage with the Civil Aviation Authority and suggested\u00a0it might be useful to have\u00a0a third party oversee their usage. Police forces in Dorset, and Devon and Cornwall have already begun trialling the use of drones for police matters and Dr McKenna was interviewed by\u00a0BBC Radio Devon earlier this month following news of their introduction.<\/p>\n

In October, Dr McKenna was interviewed by the Guardian after the release of official figures revealing a rise in cases involving drones being used for sexual and drug-related offences. In the article ‘UK police see spike in drone incidents’<\/a>, Dr McKenna described a lack of awareness of the law governing the use of drones:\u00a0 ‘I was talking, for example, to a farmer who was not best pleased at a drone going across his land and he felt that he could use a shotgun because he regarded it as akin to a dog attacking his livestock. That was an interesting perspective. Education is important, but it will only get us so far. If we cannot enforce the regulations that we have, then people will use self-help mechanisms. That is the nature of a human being unfortunately.’<\/p>\n

Also in October Dr McKenna was interviewed on the BBC Radio Kent Drive<\/a> programme (1:24 into the programme), by BBC Radio Sussex, Wave FM (a commercial radio station for Hampshire and Dorset) and by BBC Radio Suffolk for their Sunday news bulletins.<\/p>\n

Regional television programme BBC South East Today, interviewed Dr McKenna for a story about complaints into drone use in Kent and Sussex on 5 October. The pre-recorded interview followed news that the highest number of complaints about drones of any area had been recorded in Sussex. On the same day, a BBC News item ‘Are drones dangerous or harmless fun?<\/a>‘ and published online, featured comments by Dr McKenna.<\/p>\n

In August, Dr McKenna was interviewed by BBC Radio Oxford and BBC Radio Berkshire<\/a><\/p>\n

In September, drone research undertaken by Dr McKenna was referenced at the launch of a debate <\/a>on the civilian use of drones by Baroness O’Cathain in the House of Lords. Earlier in the year Dr McKenna contributed written evidence to a House of Lords report, Civilian Use of Drones in the EU<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In addition to drone use, Dr McKenna’s research interests include the information society, communication law, information law, media, human rights, information technology law, international commercial law, data protection, privacy and asbestos-related issues.<\/p>\n

For further details of Dr McKenna\u2019s research interests and publications, visit his staff profile page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A summary of Dr McKenna’s recent media appearances\u00a0is available in PDF format:\u00a0Media Coverage Report_Alan McKenna_KLS 2015<\/a><\/p>\n