Drones that drop drugs and weapons at prisoners in high-security prisons in the United Kingdom have become in a “threat to national security”, according to a report carried out by the body that manages prisons in the country, the so-called Inspectorate of Prisons.
The service’s chief inspector, Charlie Taylor, has accused the police and the British Government of give up control of airspace on prisons, following two inspections carried out in Manchester prisons, in the north of England, and Long Lartin, in the center, between September 17 and October 30, 2024.
“It is extremely alarming that the police and prison service have effectively given up the airspace over two high security prisons to organized crime gangs who can send contraband to prisons where extremely dangerous prisoners are held,” Taylor says in a statement.
In both prisons there was “an illicit economy of drugs, mobile phones and weapons, and basic security measures, such as protection networks and video surveillance systems, had been allowed to fall into disuse,” the institution says. The document also reveals that 39% of the inmates at Manchester Prison tested positive for drugswhile 50% of inmates at Long Lartin said in interviews that it is “easy to get drugs and alcohol” at the centre.
Increase in violence
Violence in prisons has increased “partly due to drugs and debt incurred by prisoners”, leading to six self-inflicted deaths in Manchester since the last inspection in 2021, while a seventh took place weeks later of the last visit of the agency, which makes it “one of the most violent prisons in the country.”
“The prison service, police and other security services must urgently tackle organized gang activity and reduce the supply of drugs and other illicit items that so clearly undermine all aspects of life in prison,” Taylor claimed in this sense.
In response to an urgent question in the House of Commons, the Secretary of State for Justice, Nicolas Dakin, argued this Tuesday that drones “are cause for great concern,” adding that the Labor Government “inherited a prison system in crisis, with an increase in violence and drug use.”
Regarding the measures to avoid these episodes, he explained that they cannot give details “given the implications for security”, and he stressed that investing in improvements to windows, nets and barsto prevent the prisoners from receiving the shipments.
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