A DRONE caught flying past a German Church Road property has been reported to police.
Linda Grieve, who operates The Cage Youth Foundation from the address, said the drone was seen sweeping the site about noon on Monday.
Ms Grieve said her son-in-law Paul Bowers was visiting the property when he saw the unmanned aircraft going back and forward the area before disappearing.
She said Mr Bowers immediately became suspicious, believing the drone's operator may have been trying to survey the property ahead of an attempted burglary.
The matter was reported to police before neighbours were contacted to look out for the drone and its operator.
"We thought, 'what on earth is a drone doing?" Ms Grieve said.
"The drone was going back forward across the property four to five times and then the drone disappeared."
Redland Bay police said no theft had ever been connected to use of drones in the area.
A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority said operators were not allowed to fly drones within 30-metres of people or above them.
Operators were advised to respect people's privacy and risked breaches of state codes if they did not.
CASA was rolling out compulsory registrations later this year for owners of drones that weighed more than 250-grams, with commercial operators also required to register.
The spokesman said the database maintained by CASA might be able to help authorities to identify operators of the small aircraft reported for breaching regulations.
He said people suspicious of any drone flown over or near their property should try to photograph the aerial vehicle and supply the evidence to CASA and police.
If the operator was in sight, grabbing their car's registration and other identifying details would help authorities to find them better.
However, drones could have ranges that spanned kilometres, making it hard to find wayward operators flying the unmanned aircraft for nefarious purposes, he said.
"There is nothing CASA can do if there is no evidence of who is flying the drone," he said.
The spokesman said the use of drones by criminals for scoping out properties and spying on people was a matter for police to deal with.
Ms Grieve said no property had been stolen from the CAGE but security was being boosted to prevent thefts.
She has posted a call out on The Cage's Facebook page for people to record number plates of vehicles seen parked nearby at German Church Road.
For more information about CASA and civil aviation regulations, visit casa.gov.au.
