The sun is out and Dudley’s anti-social behaviour fighting drone has lift off

Anti-social behaviour typically increases during warmer weather and longer, lighter evenings, with last year’s out-of-hours calls peaking between May and August. The team received an average of 124 calls a month between April and September 2025 versus just 79 a month between October 2025 and March 2026. Launching the drone now allows the council to take a proactive approach ahead of this expected rise.

The move follows a cabinet decision in March to adopt a tougher, “zero tolerance” approach to anti-social behaviour, including strengthened enforcement and the use of new tools such as surveillance and drones.

The drone, called Blade 0,1 has the ability to cover a 15mile radius allowing the authority to get to the heart of the issue quickly and capturing real time information.

The drone will be flown at up to 120m high and up to a distance of up to 500m. Its zoom technology means it can cover a vast distance from a hovering point miles away. Test flights at Mary Stevens Park in Stourbridge saw the drone able to zoom in on the Red House Glass Cone in Wordsley and read the lettering of signage on site. It can be flown at night, in total darkness and is fitted with thermal imaging technology, spotlight and GPS mapping. Footage can be shared with police for their own additional investigations.

By capturing illegal activity on camera, the authority and its partners will be able to identify and catch perpetrators and bring cases against rogue individuals and activity.

It will also be used to track off-road bikes, used in fly tipping investigations and to identify potholes, while thermal technology will allow the council to identify properties potentially being used to harvest and grow illegal drugs.

Michael Brereton, Director for Development and Regulation, said:

“Anti-social behaviour is a real concern to our residents, particularly during the summer months, whether it’s off-road bikes, noisy neighbours, dangerous dogs or criminal activity in our communities.

“We recently passed a new anti-social behaviour policy and this is just the beginning of our roll-out, we will not let this sort of behaviour go unpunished. 

“The drone will be our eyes in the sky and help us identify and bring offenders to justice.”

The scheme is part of a range of projects designed to tackle anti-social behaviour across the borough which also includes two new public space protection orders which give the authority more powers to tackle nuisance behaviour.

This is alongside existing programmes such as the council’s dedicated out of hours team who work to field nightime anti-social behaviour calls, last year fielding more than 1,300 calls and carrying out more than 1,700 home visits.  Recent figures show that nine out of ten residents who have complained to Dudley Council about anti-social behaviour this year are happy with the way the authority has tackled the issue.

Dudley Council is taking a hard line on anti-social behaviour and related crime.  People can report incidents online at any time of the day or night through MyDudley. Criminal matters or emergencies should be reported to the police.

Find out more on reporting anti-social behaviour - https://www.dudley.gov.uk/residents/housing/your-tenancy/anti-social-behaviour/