“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 del

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

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2024-05-09 20:30:03

“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.