Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) Threat Analysis and a Routine Activity Theory Based Mitigation Approach

With the evolution of technology in today’s modern society comes the global success of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs; also known as drones). There are, however, opportunities for UAVs to be abused in criminal or nefarious activities. The aim of this paper is to outline the opportunities for UAVs to be used in criminal activities, and explore the potential countermeasures and their effectiveness. This paper will seek to apply Routine Activity Theory to reduce the opportunities for UAV related crime and theorise strategies to increase accountability. Finally, this paper will attempt to forecast the threat of a criminal act within 2019.