Dr Alexander Ornella

My main research at the moment is on security drones and security robots and religious communities. With the increasing availability and accessibility of drones, I am currently exploring two main research avenues/questions:

1) how do religious communities respond to the increasing use of drones and robots by police, e.g. drones as first responders (DFR). I am interested what factors (e.g. religious affiliation, past experiences of surveillance) impact religious communities' perception of police drones.

2) are religious communities starting to adopt consumer drones as part and parcel of their security strategies? Many religious communities operate CCTV already. I am interested to what extent religious communities might add drones to their existing security and surveillance infrastructure.

Find out more about my police drone, security drone/robot and religious communities research: https://ornella.info/police-drones-security-drones-and-religious-communities/

In addition to security drones and religious communities, my research interests include:

* the triangular relationship between religion, media, and crime

* sports and religious communities

* religion and technology broadly speaking

I am also one of the Chief Editors of the JRFM Journal for Religion, Film, and Media. The journal has recently been awarded a DFG Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft Open Access grant.

Together with Prof. Stefanie Knauss, I have also recently been awarded the GRASP Grants for Research for Arts and Sciences Professors from Villanova University for a project on Religion, Media, and Crime (https://media-religion.net).

I have also provided evaluations for the UK Home Office and Humberside Police.