Illegal drone operations are similar to running a charity to commit fraud. The primary mode of operation is the honor system, not having a bunch of agents ready

Illegal drone operations are similar to running a charity to commit fraud. The primary mode of operation is the honor system, not having a bunch of agents ready to stop criminal activity the instant it happens. But now that it's happening, the central motivation is to capture the perpetrator. That's a necessity to show there isn't some government conspiracy to expand power, that someone really did urinate in the swimming pool, and show the seriousness of the consequences. This isn't a case of larceny, it's wholesale asset and trust destruction. There's millions of pounds of costs associated with this event that cannot be recovered from the perpetrators. So throwing the book at them, however overcriminalized it might end up being, is going to be the main means of deterring future events. And that's because we don't have a drone police force, yet, to nearly instantly apprehend drones coming into an airport's perimeter. What are we going to do, deploy such things for thousands of airports? You really want people to be incentivized to adhere to the honor system, even if it's a coercive disincentive that you're going to lose your freedom if you decide to piss in the pool in this manner.