UK seeks solution to drones flying contraband into prisons
The UK government is looking at ways to combat the "game changing" use of drones to bring contraband, including drugs and smartphones, into the country's prisons, according to Prisons Minister Sam Gyimah. During a recent Justice Questions in the House of Commons. Gyimah said the government is considering an industry trial in which jail coordinates could be built into drones and create automatic no-fly zones. The department was also said to be examining a Dutch programme, using eagles to take down drones in the air. Last year, new laws prohibited the use of drones to drop contraband in prisons.
No-fly zones are to be imposed over jails in a drive to prevent drones being used to smuggle drugs and mobile phones into prisons.

Figures have revealed increasing numbers of incidents involving the use of remotely-controlled devices for smuggling contraband into jails.

Ministers have vowed to crackdown on the problem because prisoners are understood to be ordering illicit cargo using phone smuggled into cells and then a 'pilot' controlling the drone from outside the walls lands the device or makes it hover outside a cell window.

Shocking footage captured at Wansdworth Prison in London in April, showed a black bag floating through the air via a drone

Ministers have vowed to crackdown on the problem because prisoners are understood to be ordering illicit cargo using phone smuggled into cells and then a 'pilot' controlling the drone from outside the walls lands the device or makes it hover outside a cell window

No-fly zones are to be imposed over jails in a drive to prevent drones being used to smuggle drugs and mobile phones into prisons

In one instance, a drone carrying super-strength skunk cannabis, mobile phones and chargers came down in an exercise yard at Category B HMP Bullingdon in Bicester, Oxon.

Shocking footage captured at Wansdworth Prison in London in April, showed a black bag floating through the air via a drone into a window, where two pieces of wood tied together could be seen reaching out from a cell and hooking it in.

In November last year, ministers introduced new laws to stop people using drones to drop contraband or landing them inside prison grounds. Those convicted could face up to two years in prison.

But the Government is now looking at better ways to prevent drones being used to smuggle drugs and phones.

One of the proposals understood to be under consideration is a trial with industry to test whether co-ordinates of prisons could be built into drone technology so that the devices are repelled from flying over jails.

Prisons Minister Sam Gyimah said eagles could be recruited to take down remote-controlled miniature aircraft as they are flown towards jails.

Mr Gyimah revealed he was keeping a 'close eye' on tactics in Holland, where Dutch police are employing eagles after successful trials to tackle illegal drones.

Speaking during Justice Questions in the Commons on Tuesday, Mr Gyimah said: 'The new threat by drones is a game changer, not just for prisons but other parts of Government.

'That is why I'm working with ministers across the Government to engage with drone manufacturers to find a solution to this problem.

'I'm keeping a close eye on what is happening internationally, particularly in Holland where they are using eagles to stop drones, and I'm sure we will find a solution in the UK which will take off.'

The Cabinet Minister, pictured speaking to Brixton's custodial manager Wendy-Fisher McFarlane, will rank prisons in a league table for the first time

In September, Dutch police became the first in the world to recruit the birds to tackle the rising number of unlawful drones invading their skies.

After successful trials, the force bought four sea eagle chicks. Until they mature and undergo training next summer, Dutch police are using eagles supplied by a specialist company.

The eagles will be deployed whenever drones are believed to be posing a threat to the public or flying close to airports or sensitive areas.

Despite concerns raised by animal rights groups, the police say the birds are not in any danger.

Police spokesman Dennis Janus said: 'It's a low-tech solution to a hi-tech problem. None of the eagles were hurt, but as for the drones, none of them survived.

'The eagles see the drones as prey and intercept them as they are flying, before landing where they feel safe with the drone still in their claws.'

Justice Secretary Liz Truss, pictured touring HMP Brixton, London with its governor David Bamford, has blasted the jail system in Britain

But birdwatcher Bill Oddie, who used to present BBC2's Springwatch programme, rubbished the idea and dismissed it as 'pie in the sky'.

He said: 'That sounds like absolute poppycock to me.

'Why on earth would an eagle attack a drone anyway? I can't see why any bird of prey would suddenly think 'Oh, I wonder what that is? I'll go and eat a drone this morning instead of something else.' It doesn't make any sense at all to me.

'You can't train a bird to suddenly regard something as an enemy. Normally if they saw a drone coming they'd get the hell out of the way, I'd have thought.'

Meanwhile, all inmates will face mandatory drugs testing on arrival and departure from prison, while 300 sniffer dogs have been trained to detect psychoactive substances, which have been identified as a factor behind surging incidents of violence.

The Government said it's working with mobile phone operators to block illegal use of handsets by inmates.

And offenders will be tested for drugs on entry and exit from prison as part of sweeping reforms aimed at halting the rising tide of violence and substance abuse across the estate in England and Wales.

Justice Secretary Liz Truss is also expected to announce an extra 2,500 prison officers to strengthen the frontline.

Liz Truss is outlining plans to shake up the prison service

Dwindling staff numbers have previously been highlighted by campaign groups and unions. The new surge, which includes an additional 400 personnel announced last month, will be focused on staffing categories which currently total around 18,000 officers.

Other measures to be explored include action to combat drones dropping drugs and other items into prison grounds.

In a speech today, Ms Truss will say: 'These extra officers and new safety measures will help us crack down on the toxic cocktail of drugs, drones and mobile phones that are flooding our prisons, imperilling the safety of staff and offenders and thwarting reform.'

Worst-performing jails in the league table will see governors replaced with new bosses expected to fix problems

Ms Truss will today declare that prison is ‘not working’. In a scathing article, she blasts a failing system that is causing ‘incalculable’ harm to the British public – and costing every family £630 a year on reoffenders.

She pledges to finally hold prison bosses to account if they fail to tackle drug abuse, violence and extremism behind bars.

In what ministers say is the biggest shake-up for a generation, every prison will be ranked in a league table for the first time.

Prisons such as Brixton, pictured, will also become no-fly zones to stop drones being flown into jails to supply inmates with drugs

The shake-up will also target re-offending rates, which see more than 100,000 crimes committed annually by ex-prisoners - costing society £15 billion a year.

Writing for MailOnline today, she says: ‘What is clear is that the system is not working.

'Almost half of offenders commit another crime within a year of release – at a £15billion annual cost to society.

‘That is the equivalent of a £630 for every household in England and Wales. The human cost is incalculable.

'As a society we have got much better at intervening and stopping people turning to a life of crime.

'However, our reoffending rates have remained too high for too long and that has got to change.’

Ms Truss, pictured with Ms McFarlane, said the prison system is costing UK families £630 per year

In her speech Ms Truss is expected to say: 'It is absolutely right that prisons punish people who commit serious crimes by depriving them of their most fundamental right: liberty.

'However our re-offending rates have remained too high for too long. So prisons need to be more than places of containment - they must be places of discipline, hard work and self-improvement.

'They must be places where offenders get off drugs and get the education and skills they need to find work and turn their back on crime for good.'

Plans to give governors more powers over education, work and health budgets will also be outlined.

If a jail is found to be failing by the Chief Inspector of Prisons, the Justice Secretary will have a new legal duty to intervene.

Ms Truss, pictured inside Brixton Prison with its governor, said British prisons were failing and needed a shake-up

The reform package is expected to reiterate the Government's commitment to a £1.3 billion building programme to replace the most dilapidated facilities and create 10,000 modern prison places.

Plans to shut Victorian prisons were outlined last year, but only HMP Holloway in north London has so far been confirmed as facing closure.

HMP Wellingborough, a former Category C prison for adult men in Northamptonshire which shut in 2012, will be confirmed as the first site earmarked for potential redevelopment under the modernisation drive.

Rising levels of violence have prompted a flurry of warnings about the state of prisons, with figures showing there are 65 assaults behind bars every day.

Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon blamed rising violence and drug abuse on Tory cuts.

The Labour frontbencher said: 'The Justice Secretary must use her speech to tell us how she will fix the prison system that is at breaking point.

'She needs to explain how she intends to deal with record levels of violence; widespread availability of drugs; and reduced access to education and rehabilitation, which Conservative cuts have caused.

'The reduction by 25 per cent of frontline prison officers mean those that remain are overstretched, overwhelmed and without support. She has to set out a clear plan on how she will deal with both recruitment and retention of staff.

'She must put forward a convincing package that will regain the trust of prison governors and prison officers and deliver a prison system that works.