English prisons could introduce anti-drone technology

After a successful six-month experiment in Guernsey, an anti-drone system could be introduced by the government to stop drug smuggling in English prisons.

The Chief inspector of prisons, prison governors and officers have expressed frustration at the failure of HM Prison Service to use technology to prevent drug smuggling using drones fuelling the growing drug problem in jails.

The prisons minister, Rory Stewart, told MPs officials were considering rolling out the scheme after ministers had previously been resisting implementing the system on cost grounds.

"We are looking at an electronic fencing technique which has been deployed in Guernsey," he said. "If that electronic fence in Guernsey works, it is a good cheap solution. We need to check out its technical specifications and then we could look at rolling it out."

HM Prison Service downplayed the success of the technology. A spokesman said: "While there are some advantages to this technology, it doesn't help us to catch criminals attempting to smuggle contraband into prisons or intercept illegal drugs and mobile phones."

SkyFence blocks radio signals around a prison whenever drones are detected.

Dave Matthews, the governor of Guernsey prison has reported that no drones had breached the prison's perimeter and no devices had been damaged in the process.

"We put this up because we saw what was happening in the UK and we knew it was only a matter of time before Guernsey became victim to deliveries by drones," he said. "The system has just stopped the problem happening."

The initial reluctance to adopt the system dismayed prison staff who claimed the government was more concerned about saving money than making prisons safe.

Glyn Travis, the assistant general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, said: "Why is the government not prepared to safeguard prions from drones when the technology is available? Money should not come ahead of public safety."

Matthews said SkyFence was installed for £120,000, but that this did not reflect the true cost because the company involved, Drone Defence, was willing to make a loss on the system in the hope that, once installed, it would help secure future commissions.

Mitch Albutt, the national officer at the Prison Governors Association, said: "You would think that if you have a good system that greatly reduces supply, then it would be implemented, especially at that price."

The problem of drone smuggling was highlighted by the conviction in October of seven members of a gang who airlifted £500,000 worth of drugs into prisons.

Elliott Cockett, who runs a business in Guernsey called Drone Ranger, tested the system by trying to breach the perimeter, but he failed. "I was amazed it worked so well," he said. "It doesn't tamper with the drone, it just blocks the communication between the remote and the drone."

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