• WE read that Islington police are considering the use of drones to fight crime. This is my contribution to the debate:

Islington’s Drones Rising

In Islington police drones are set to rise,
As politicians close their eyes,
Not wishing to pick a bone,
What’s the power of the drone?

They can record all the hate and love
but are they the jackdaw or the dove?
Everyone I know and meet,
Recorded from the above it is so sweet,
Never leave my house alone,
As I am always watched by a drone.

It will never sleep,
Just silently creep 24/7
Life under the police eye from heaven

With facial recognition,
Should I worry if they carry ammunition?
As a terror attack,
Would mean we have to fight back.

Police numbers will fry,
So obvious as to why,
No more court debates or law,
Evidence complete as the drone saw.
Hence nothing to debate,
But the sentence mate.

Will private police arrive with this?
As all crimes it will never miss?
Arrest you at home tomorrow,
Don’t pitch me with any sorrow.

Time and date,
The video is great.
Your nicked mate.

So should I feel charmed?
Or, be downright alarmed?
As the sky could become farmed,
With drones that are armed?

Crime free world and love?
Or Orwellian nightmare
A jackdaw dressed as a dove?

Does this issue deserve debate?
Will the drones be sad or great?

MICHAEL McELLIGOTT 
Amwell Street, EC1