Victimization by Flying Predators: The Use of Recreational Drones to Stalk and Prey Upon the General Public

Abstract

By Haylee Kutzli, Criminal Justice

Advisor: Amanda Graham

Presentation ID: AM_A60

Abstract: Initially used as military weapons but now are recreational toys, recreational drones may have gone rogue from their original intent-recreation. These toy drones are now being used to stalk and victimize individuals in ways that were never intended. In order to understand the scope of the problem, content analysis using the NewsBank Database sought to locate cases of stalking or victimization via drones reported to news sources within the United States from the year 1970 to 2019. Preliminary analyses indicate that this is a growing problem and, if addressed early, may be prevented. This poster will present trends of victim characteristics as a first step toward understanding how best to prevent victimization via the use of drones in the future.