Part 3: Unmanned aircraft Stop and search Policy Background
Between 9 September and 22 October 2018, the Home Office ran the public consultation, "Stop and search: extending police powers to cover offences relating to unmanned aircraft (drones), laser pointers and corrosive substances". The consultation included questions on UA on behalf of the Department for Transport to inform the content of this Act. Responses to the consultation were broadly unsupportive of proposals relating to UA. Many respondents felt that the intrusive nature of stop and search powers would be disproportionate to what they perceived as a lack of threat.
	The consultation was conducted prior to events at London Gatwick Airport in December 2018. In light of those events, the Home Office response to the consultation, published on 20 February 2019, included, alongside proposals for stop and search powers to support the new offence of possessing a corrosive substance in a public place, a commitment to develop a stop and search power for offences relating to flying a UA in the flight restriction zone of a protected aerodrome. The consultation response also set out the Government’s intention to keep the further expansion of stop and search powers in relation to other offences involving UA under review. After further consideration, the Government decided that a stop and search power which would apply in relation to a limited number of offences in the ANO 2016 and prison offences was necessary.