New report examines criminal drone operations targeting prisons

A new policy brief from the institute examines the growing use of unmanned aerial vehicles by serious and organised criminal groups, with specific regard to His Majesty's Prison Estate in the United Kingdom.

Drones are being used effectively to smuggle contraband and disrupt routine business in prisons and incarceration centres, and the problem is escalating. Information passes readily between criminal networks, producing group learning and adaptations that avoid detection. The impact has been profound enough that recent inspections by civil authorities have cited it as a risk to national security.

The brief draws a line from theatres of war to domestic crime, noting that individuals exposed to advanced methods abroad may bring those tactics home, and that supply chains of controlled drugs connect prolific networks in Central and South America to groups in the UK.

It closes with a legislative review setting out where responsibility for the threat currently rests.

Read the full brief