Register Drones, Don’t Confuse Them With Manned Craft: East Brunswick PD

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — With concerns growing over drone sightings across the state, the East Brunswick Police Department recently released a statement asking residents to register their drones.

The Police Department also released guidance on how to distinguish between legally operating drones and unknown crafts.

Police said residents should be careful not to mix up manned aircraft and legally operating drones with unknown ones amid recent Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) sightings.

“A proper deconfliction process can reduce confusion with legally flying aircraft, drones, and other sky elements, “police said.

Before reporting drone sightings, residents should use the following deconfliction recommendations shared by the police department:

* All drone pilots who are required to register their drones must operate in accordance with the rule on Remote ID. Remote ID is the ability of a drone in flight to provide identification and location information that other parties can receive through a broadcast signal. RemotelD can be detected with apps such as DroneScanner or Dronehone. The iOS platform is known to limit WiFi scanning capabilities in the DroneScanner app.

* All non-DOD manned aviation flights are required to emit ADS-B, which can be trackable using commercially available free websites and apps such as Flightradar24 and Flight Tracker.

* Using apps such as Enigma can assist with deconflicting stars, planets, satellites, and other sky elements.

The public is urged to continue to report drone sightings to the FBI via its tips line. The number is 1-800-CALL-FBI (800 225-5324). Photos and videos of the drones are encouraged and can be uploaded at tips.fbi.gov.

For online reports, click “submit a tip” and then use the “other FBI crimes” tab.

If you observe drones landing, crashing, or flying over critical infrastructure, report it to the East Brunswick Police Department by calling 732-390-6901 or 9-1-1 if it’s an emergency. “Please do not approach any drones that land or crash,” police said.

Last week, Mayors and local legislators vented their frustrations about the lack of information around the spate of unidentified drones flying around New Jersey communities, following a meeting with state authorities.

The drone sightings emerged mid-November, with reports of them making nightly flights in different parts of North Jersey. Over the past two weeks, police in across the state have been fielding similar complaints of nighttime drones, which sometimes travel in clusters.

It remains unclear who's controlling the drones and for what reason.

Law enforcement throughout New Jersey have noted that current laws limit their ability to counter the aircraft. State and local police have been required to rely on federal agencies to spearhead the investigation and take action.

There's been "no evidence" that the reported drones are threatening public safety or national security, according to the FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

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