By Leischen Stelter, editor of In Public Safety
In March, an inmate in Maryland was convicted of conspiring with two other men to fly drugs and other contraband into a maximum-security prison aboard a drone, reported the Baltimore Sun. The men were attempting to use the drone to drop packages of prescription narcotics, synthetic marijuana, pornography videos, tobacco and a cell phone.
James Deater, who was a Maryland State Trooper for 23 years, recently hosted a webinar, “Drone/UAV Threats to Secure Facilities” as part of American Military University’s Law Enforcement Webinar Series. This webinar discussed the threat of drones on secure facilities such as correctional institutions, critical infrastructure facilities and government buildings.
Threat of Drones to Correctional Facilities
Drones pose a new and major threat to penal institutions. “The biggest concerns with drones and prisons are the introduction of weapons like guns, knives, ice picks—anything that could cause harm to inmates or correctional officers,” said Deater. The second biggest concern is the introduction of illegal items and contraband. “Items such as drugs, tobacco and cell phones are small and light so even drones sold in toy stores are able to carry those payloads,” he said.
Full Story: The threat of drones to secure facilities
