The Home Office could utilise electronic forcefields to prevent “drug drones” from entering UK prisons.
The system is already in use at Guernsey’s Les Nicolles Prison and has detected any drone flown within 50 metres, preventing drugs, phones, and other contraband entering the premises.
The forcefield blocks the signals that connect the operator and the drone, disabling it and causing it to either fall out of the sky or fly back to the operator. So far, the prison has had a 100% success rate.
John De Carteret, governor at Les Nicolles Prison, has been in talks with the Home Office, who have a team “working on” making the system more mainstream.
“My personal view is that it’s not very long before a firearm is taken into a prison which will enable a huge incident involving concerted indiscipline or an escape attempt.”
“Telling people and publicising what we have got has been a bigger mitigating factor than anything else.”
Ministry of Justice (MoJ) sources told The Telegraph the Home Office meeting with Mr De Carteret was part of a wider assessment of anti-drone technology and the ministry was not “actively” considering forcefields.
They declined to disclose specific plans to avoid “playing into the hands of serious organised criminals”.
Despite being strong enough to disrupt the signals required for the drones to fly, the Drone Defence forcefield doesn’t interfere with wifi for people nearby.
Les Nicolles Prison has been able to implement the forcefield by changing the UK’s Wireless Telegraphy Act to add drones to a clause that already allows prisons to jam mobile phones.
The operator of the drone is legally responsible for any injuries caused by the malfunctioning equipment.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has called for “all possible options” to be considered when it comes to preventing drones entering prisons.
He said: “Proven technology that disables drones must be fast-tracked as a matter of urgency. As the chief inspector said, the proliferation of drones circumventing prison defences is now a threat to national security.”
But a Government spokesman told the outlet: “We’ve enforced restricted fly zones around prisons, invested in countermeasures and are collaborating with the police to deter, detect and disrupt the growing illegal use of drones around prisons.”
