Written question asked by Baroness Berger (Labour) on Tuesday, 11 July 2017, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 17 July 2017 (named day). It was answered by Sam Gyimah (Conservative) on Monday, 17 July 2017 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Prisons: Unmanned Air Systems

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many drones carrying contraband goods were seized within prison grounds in 2016-17.

Answer

We do not disclose the information requested for reasons of operational security in prisons.

We take a zero tolerance approach to smuggling of contraband into prisons and work closely with the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to ensure those caught are prosecuted.

In addition, a range of methods to counter the threat posed by drones are being trialled and evaluated for their effectiveness across the prison estate.

We have already introduced new legislation to further strengthen our powers, making it illegal to land a drone in a prison or to use a drone to drop in contraband.

We have had successful prosecutions due to intelligence led operations and working closely with the local police forces to prevent the use of drones to smuggle contraband into prisons.

To date, there has been a total of 35 arrests and 11 convictions of criminals involved in drone activity – resulting in those convicted being sentenced to a total of more than 40 years in jail.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 4436
Session: 2017-19
Related items: Prisons: Smuggling
Friday, 3 November 2017
Written questions
House of Commons; Prisons: Unmanned Air Systems
Friday, 22 December 2017
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects: Prisons Smuggling Unmanned air systems
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Prisons: Unmanned Air Systems

Secondary information

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