There were nine attempts using drones to break into prisons in England and Wales in the first five months of 2015, according to the Ministry of Justice. Among them was a drone carrying mobile phones and drugs that was intercepted by guards at Bedford Prison in March.
The use of drones is an "emerging threat," said Eva Richard from the National Crime Agency in an interview at the defense and security conference in London, as reported by the Independent.
There were four known drone attacks in 2014
Even high-security prisons are vulnerable to drones (UAVs), intelligence analyst Ms Richard said, according to the newspaper. There is no evidence that drones have been successfully used to smuggle drugs into prisons, but there is potential for this to happen in the future, she was quoted as saying in an interview at the Defence and Security Equipment International trade fair in London.
“In short, our intelligence is that the use of UAVs to get items into our prisons is an emerging threat. It’s not a huge issue at the moment, but it has the potential to grow and become more of an issue,” he said. In August, a drone was found in the grounds of Norwich Prison, while recently another was caught in fencing at a prison in Liverpool.
"Organized gangs"
Mark Icke, vice-chairman of the Prison Governors Association, said he believes drones are mostly being used in an attempt to smuggle drugs into prisons. "What's happening in the prison system right now is that we have newer and more sophisticated criminal networks operating in and around prisons," he said.
"We're talking about large, organized gangs, who don't want to cause disorder, but to make money. There's a huge difference with drugs in prison..
He also said that the use of drones is "an emerging threat and something that concerns us," but that the guards had limited control over preventing them.
Fencing windows and placing nets over prison yards, similar to those used in maximum security prisons, will help reduce the threat.
