THE Police Service of Northern Ireland have used remotely controlled drones 32 times in Fermanagh, Your Right to Know can reveal.

But they have refused to say where the aerial searches have taken place, or why.

Drones, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), are small model aircraft containing a camera and are used to assist police officers by relaying information or gathering photographs.

The technology was purchased by the PSNI for the G8 summit in Enniskillen in 2013.

Following a Freedom of Information Request by Your Right to Know, the PSNI has confirmed that drones have been used 32 “operational occasions” in relation to “overt policing duties in support of district policing in the Fermanagh policing district.”

A PSNI spokesperson said that to confirm or deny whether intelligence was used in specific investigations “would undermine” their ability to use intelligence information “as an operational tool for investigating crimes including those that may have occurred historically.”

“The threat from terrorism cannot be ignored,” added the spokesperson.

“It is well established that police forces use covert tactics and surveillance to gain intelligence in order to counteract criminal behaviour. It has been previously documented in the media that many terrorist incidents have been thwarted due to intelligence gained by these means.

“Confirming or denying that any other information is held in relation to covert use around UAVs would limit operational capabilities as criminals/terrorists would gain a greater understanding of the police’s methods and techniques, enabling them to take steps to counter them. It may also suggest any limitations of police capabilities in this area, which may further encourage criminal/terrorist activity by exposing potential vulnerabilities.”

Independent Councillor Bernice Swift has criticised the use of drones in Fermanagh.

“I totally condemn the continued violation of our civil liberties by the PSNI and other British intelligence services. This recent Freedom of Information Request exposes the very hidden and covert nature of British policing in Ireland and demands immediate answers from those responsible,” she said.

“Whilst this gives us the number of drones used by the PSNI in Fermanagh it gives no account on, when, where and how much this is costing the ratepayer. It also doesn’t give details on the number of drones used by the British Army or other covert intelligence agencies. So much for PCSP members holding the PSNI to account.”

“It is totally unacceptable that in 2016 we still have British/PSNI spooks operating covert operations from the skies spying and invading our privacy without accountability. It is obvious that it is Irish Republicanism itself and its freedom and Independence that continues to pose the greatest threat to the interests of the British state in Ireland.

“This continued British state intrusion into our daily lives is totally unacceptable. The people need to know more than the scant details released under the Freedom of Information by the PSNI,” Councillor Swift told Your Right to Know.