Drones threaten prison security
Drones delivering contraband to prisoners pose a ‘‘significant threat’’ but Corrections has no policy to combat unmanned aircraft one year after an appeal from a senior manager.
That was one of the revelations in a trove of internal Corrections documents illustrating the growing threat of drones to prison security, obtained under the Official Information Act.
An intelligence report discussed the use of signal-jamming guns to stop unmanned aircraft, while officials said drones smuggling contraband over prison walls was likely to become more common.
Corrections national commissioner Rachel Leota said her department believed drones had successfully dropped contraband inside prison perimeters in a ‘‘small number of cases’’, though there had been no confirmed incidents.
A drone had been recovered inside a prison at least once and there had been several sightings of unmanned aircraft around the facilities, Leota said.
Corrections property general manager Craig Plim sent a memo on October 31, 2018, urging the department to develop a policy to ensure illegal use of drones was policed effectively and legal use was properly managed.
Nearly one year on, deputy national commissioner Andy Milne confirmed Corrections had not developed a formal policy to manage or police drones around prisons.
Staff were given guidelines on how to respond to a drone sighting, which focused on reporting sightings and minimising the risk of inmates successfully receiving contraband dropped by unmanned aircraft.
‘‘For operational security reasons we cannot comment on the security measures undertaken by Corrections in relation to drones around prisons.’’
An email to custodial staff obtained by Stuff shows a new incident category was added as a result of the increase in the number of incidents involving drones.
The email said police should be notified after a drone sighting near a prison as the operator was likely committing an offence under the Corrections Act.
It also asked staff to note a range of details, including its direction of travel, height and ‘‘any suspected payload that can be seen on the drone’’.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison has been the site of two drone sightings, according to a 2016 intelligence report.
That year, a student pilot noticed an unmanned aircraft hovering about 300 metres above the prison.
When the pilot made a pass to investigate, the drone descended rapidly out of view, and its operator has never been found.
Three years earlier, two drones were seen zooming low over the property about 6am.
Their operators also remain unknown.