First of all, we aren't the Police, MI5, the CIA or that lady from No 42 with the twitchy curtains - although some people think we are, and most NIMBYs think we should be!
Basically, as a pilot, it's up to you to adhere to the rules of the air and the Air Navigation Order (A.N.O).
If we see you deliberately commiting an reportable offence, then we have a duty to report it.
Equally, if we consider that you've been doing something which may contravene the A.N.O. , but it's not clear to us if you were doing it deliberately or in ignorance, then we have the option of discussing the matter with you if you want to do so, or reporting it, or doing both.
I suspect that the vast majority of low or "dangerous" flying complaints which actually end up in court are bought to the attention of the CAA by the general public, and not ATC or other aviation professionals.
Only a few airport based radar systems in the UK have recording facilities, so the majority of evidence in such court cases is backed up by the National Air Traffic Services en route radar recordings, which is rarely reliable as court evidence at low level.
We're not in the business of looking to trip you up at the first opportunity, but if a pilot sets out to deliberately p*@s someone off, it's highly likely they'll succeed sooner rather than later, sometimes encouraging us to start the reporting process.
