A drone in flight (Image: PA)
Prisons face a firearms epidemic unless action is taken to stop drones delivering contraband to prisoners. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, an independent watchdog who investigates deaths in custody, called for urgent action to prevent tragedies.
Prison officers even fear drones capable of carrying weights up to 75kg could be used in airborne escape attempts. The warnings came as prisons experienced an “exponential increase” in drones being used to fly drugs to inmates - with one facility reported 16 drone visits in a single night.
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Old-fashioned windows and poor surveillance systems are hampering efforts to stop the trade, and inspectors have warned many prisons need better CCTV and new netting over exercise yards. Prisons and Probation Ombudsman Adrian Usher said: “Drones can deliver up to 7 kilos of drugs at a time and we are concerned this will eventually escalate to firearms being delivered into prisons.
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“While we understand that the continuous technological advancements of drones make it difficult for prisons to stop them, we urge that action is taken to address this issue.”
Mick Pimblett, Deputy General Secretary of the Prison Officers’ Association, said: “The use of drones to deliver contraband such as drugs, mobile phones, weapons etc. into jails is increasing the risk to staff, and destabilising prisons. Without action, it is only a matter of time until a firearm is delivered to a prison by drone.”
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And he warned large drones could be used to take inmates to freedom, saying: “Furthermore, some drones which have been utilised by organised crime can carry a payload of up to 75kg, presenting an increased risk of them being used in an escape.
“Unlike for example, the prison in Guernsey, mainland UK Prisons have not been equipped with adequate anti-drone technology. We must see investment in anti-drone technology in all our jails to help equip Prison Officers to do their job.”
There were 1,296 drone incidents at prisons in England and Wales in the 10 months to the end of October 2024, and Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor has accused the police and Government of giving up control of the airspace above HMP Manchester and HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire, two high security prisons.
The body representing Independent Monitoring Boards, which monitor conditions inside prisons, warned that drugs “became increasingly available and more frequently used by prisoners” in 2024.
Giving evidence to a Commons inquiry, it told MPs that “outdated windows permitted drugs to be smuggled in more easily” at Long Lartin and The Mount prison in Hertfordshire.
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“At one prison, extreme drone activity led to an escalation in the ingress of illicit items with up to 16 drone incursions in one night. At another, one individual was prosecuted for flying a drone into the prison on 79 separate occasions,” the boards said.
Drugs are also being brought into prisons as liquids which have been soaked into pieces of paper, leading some institutions to confiscate every letter sent to a prisoner and provide them with photocopies instead.
The boards told MPs: “At some prisons, it was believed that staff corruption was a factor contributing to increasing drug use throughout the year.”
But they also highlighted lack of resources, saying: “Many prisons do not have scanning equipment.”
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Drug use led to “high violence levels” partly because it caused prisoners to get into debt, the boards said.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "The availability of drugs and other illicit items in prisons is yet more evidence of the crisis the new Government inherited.
"We have a wide range of security measures in place to seize more contraband and a specialist team to bear down on drugs and serious and organised crime. Anyone caught smuggling items into prison will be punished."