DRONES DROPPING DRUGS INTO PRISONS ARE THREAT TO UK NATIONAL SECURITY, SAYS WATCHDOG

Wed 15 January 2025:

Drones dropping drugs and weapons into high-security prisons in the UK are a threat to national security, the prisons watchdog warned on Tuesday.

Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, has called for urgent action to tackle drones after a surge in drugs and weapons flown to prisons holding some of the most dangerous men in Britain.

Inspections of HMP Manchester and HMP Long Lartin prisons revealed last year serious concerns with safety and security, with the situation at Manchester “so bad” that Taylor issued an urgent notification for improvement to the secretary of state, according to a statement by the Inspectorate of Prisons.

__________________________________________________________________________

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22

__________________________________________________________________________

“Both jails had thriving illicit economies of drugs, mobile phones and weapons, and basic security measures such as protective netting and CCTV had been allowed to fall into disrepair,” it said.

At Manchester, prisoners were burning holes in supposedly secure windows so they could continue to receive regular deliveries by drone, while some of these had increasingly large payloads, which had the potential to lead to serious disruption and potential escape, the watchdog warned.

“It is highly alarming that the police and prison service have, in effect ceded the airspace above two high-security prisons to organised crime gangs which are able to deliver contraband to jails holding extremely dangerous prisoners including some who have been designated as high-risk category A,” Taylor said.

He said that the safety of staff, prisoners and ultimately of the public, is “seriously compromised” by the failure to tackle what has become a threat to national security.

At Manchester, 39% of prisoners had tested positive in mandatory drug tests and 50% of those who responded to the watchdog’s survey said it was easy to get drugs and alcohol at Long Lartin.

Meanwhile, violence and self-harm at both jails had also increased, in part driven by drugs and the accompanying debt prisoners found themselves in.

“There had been six self-inflicted deaths at Manchester since our last inspection in 2021, with a seventh taking place a few weeks after our visit,” the statement said, adding that it is now one of the most violent prisons in the country, with a high number of serious assaults against prisoners and staff.

-Source: AA

__________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

WhatsApp CHANNEL
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22