B.C. prisons have seized 30 drones in a single week. Why authorities say their hands are tied

The drone problem at B.C. prisons has soared, according to the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers (UCCO).

“We’ve seen and caught up to 30 drones in one week,” John Randle, regional president of the Pacific Region, tells Castanet.

Only half of the deliveries that had arrived across all institutions in the region, Randle said. Contraband delivered by the drones include weapons, drugs and cell phones, he said.

Inmates can ping their location on cell phones to receive airdrops by their immediate window, Randle notes. There are five to 30 drone sightings in B.C. institutions every week, he said.

“We’re seeing packages coming in that we would see crossing a border normally that you’d see on like border shows, and now they’re dropping that kind of package into a prison,” he added. The drops include weapons such as pocket knives, brass knuckles and ceramic knives, Randle said.

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) said last month it currently lacks “legal authority” to use drone-jamming technology, but is exploring both the “legal processes and feasibility” of eventually using the technology.

Canada’s prison watchdog has also suggested that prisons employ new technology in the battle against drone smugglers. This month, CSC recently launched a pilot program in some institutions introducing newer security measures to intercept drones, including dogs that can sniff out electronics and scanners that can detect drones, Randle said.

Meanwhile, the problem has reached an inflection point in some prisons. In Ontario, corrections officers at Collins Bay and Joyceville Institutions in Kingston, Ontario, which house more than 700 inmates each, seized drone drops carrying $441,900 worth of contraband in a little over a week, staring in March 28.

The presence of contraband increases violence among inmates and raises the threat against officers, Randle has said.

UCCO held a protest last month at regional headquarters of the CSC in Abbottsford, B.C., where more than 100 union members were estimated to have participated.

The union said in a statement its officers are “routinely” targeted for assaults, often leaving them with both “physical and psychological injuries.”

It says the uptick in violence against guards has caused a mental health crisis, and working conditions and the management structure at correctional facilities don’t support front-line workers’ needs.

National Post, with additional reporting from The Canadian Press

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