A drone incident record is useful to the police when it is complete, accurately timed, kept in its original form and clear about who did what. In practice that means one timeline that shows when the drone was first and last seen, where it flew, which sensors saw it, any footage and identifying data, every decision your team made, and when you reported it. Capture it as the incident happens, not from memory afterwards.
Why the record matters
For most private sites, the most useful thing you can do about a drone is see it, record it and report it. The National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) lists evidence that will support the investigation and prosecution of offenders as one of the four things a counter-drone system is for, alongside early warning, rapid tasking and information for decisions.
A good record helps in more places than a police investigation. It shows insurers what happened. It answers questions from regulators and senior leaders. And it helps your own team learn from each incident, so the next response is better.
A poor record does the opposite. Notes written up hours later, screenshots without times, and footage that has been trimmed or exported without a trace of where it came from all leave room for doubt.
What a usable record contains
When. The time of first detection and last detection, and the times of everything in between. Use one time standard throughout, and make sure every system involved agrees on the time. Small differences between systems make a timeline hard to follow.
Where. The drone's track: its positions and heights over time, not just a single point. A track shows where it came from, where it went and how close it got to what you are protecting.
What saw it. Which sensors detected the drone, and what each one reported. If radar, RF and a camera all saw the same drone, that is stronger than any one of them alone.
What it looked like. Original camera footage and stills, kept as recorded. If you need to share a clip, share a copy and keep the original.
Who it might be. Anything identifying, if you have it. A drone broadcasting Remote ID sends, according to the Civil Aviation Authority, its Operator ID, serial number, position, height and route, and the remote pilot's position. RF detection may also suggest where a controller was. Record what the systems reported, not conclusions about who was responsible.
What your team decided. Each decision, who made it and when: who was told, whether the site changed what it was doing, whether the police were called. These entries show that the response was proportionate and followed your plan.
Who you told. When and how you reported it, who you spoke to, and any reference number you were given.
Four qualities that make a record trustworthy
Complete. One record, with everything in it. Information spread across separate sensor screens, a radio log, someone's notebook and a group chat is hard for anyone to follow, including you.
Timed. Every entry has a time, recorded when it happened. A record written up afterwards is a memory, not a log.
Original. Footage, sensor data and logs are kept as they were captured. Copies are fine for sharing, as long as the original is kept.
Accounted for. It is clear who viewed, changed or exported the record, and when. If someone corrects an entry, the correction is added and the original stays visible.
Reporting a drone to the police
The Civil Aviation Authority's guidance on illegal and dangerous drone flying tells people to call their local police on 101, or 999 if there is an immediate danger to life or a threat of violence.
When you report, have the essentials ready: where the drone is or was, when it was seen, what it is doing, which way it went, and where the pilot might be. Mention that you have a record with sensor data and footage, and ask how the police would like to receive it.
It also helps to talk to the police before anything happens. NPSA's guidance stresses that relationships with the police are key, whether that is your local force or the officers who police your site. Ask them in advance what they find most useful, and build your record around it.
Building it into your response
The easiest way to get a good record is to make it a by-product of the response, not an extra task:
- Log automatically. Detections, tracks and alerts should be recorded by the system as they happen, with times.
- Record decisions where they are made. If the operator acknowledges an alert or marks a drone as approved, that action should be logged with their name and the time.
- Keep footage linked to the track. Camera clips should sit with the drone they show, not in a separate folder.
- Rehearse the handover. In an exercise, practise producing the record for the police, so you know how long it takes and what is missing.
How Uavity approaches it
Wardglass logs every sighting, decision and action as it happens, keeps tamper-evident records of every view, decision and change, and holds them ready for police, insurers or regulators. For forces and security teams, our police and security page covers working across many sites at once.
What to do next
Take your last drone sighting, real or exercised, and try to rebuild its timeline from what you kept. Note what was missing or untimed. That gap is where to start.
If you'd like to see how this works for a site like yours, talk to us.