Orange County Grand Jury • 2016-2017

Drones: Know Before You Fly Grand Jury 2015-2016 Drones: Know Before You Fly

Published: May 25, 2016 41 pages Consolidated Report
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Findings 7 findings

F1
Recreational drones have greatly increased in number since December 2015 and it is probable their unregulated use will pose significant threats to public safety and privacy in Orange County cities and unincorporated areas.
F2
With the exception of the recent Federal Aviation Administration registration rule, recreational drone owners are largely self-policed, which leads to a wide range of behavior.
F3
Most of the cities and unincorporated areas of the County of Orange do not have a drone ordinance, nor do they have any immediate plans to enact an ordinance in the near future.
F4
Most of the cities provide no educational programs for public awareness of the safety issues connected to recreational drones.
F5
Some Orange County cities, despite recognizing potential issues with drones, are awaiting drone-related legislative action or other guidance by the State of California or FAA before enacting local ordinances.
F6
The FAA-required registration of recreational drones provides a useful tool for local enforcement of drone ordinances.
F7
Orange County cities have not established a procedure for reporting drone incidents, which results in under-reporting of drone safety and privacy events. 2015-2016 Orange County Grand Jury Drones: Know Before You Fly RECOMMENDATIONS In accordance with California Penal Code Section 933 and Section 933.05, the 2015-2016 Grand Jury requires (or, as noted, requests) responses from each agency affected by the recommendations presented in this section. The responses are to be submitted to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court. Based on its investigation titled “Drones: Know Before You Fly”, the 2015-2016 Orange County Grand Jury makes the following nine recommendations:

Recommendations 7

Agency Responses 41

Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.