Prisoners at HMP Liverpool have been caught hiding drones in their cells after the high-tech equipment was used to sneak in contraband including kilograms of drugs and hundreds of mobile phones.
Guards found 20 drones at the 800-capacity prison after 191 sightings were spotted in just 12 months. It is likely the drones were found by inmates after a loss of power or the operator being caught outside the jail during the drop-off, inspectors from the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) said.
It wasn’t just drones found by officers, and the report into the Liverpool prison revealed 236 mobile phones, 57 weapons, 48 sheets of street drug spice, almost 5kg of cannabis and 267g of a white powder thought to be cocaine during the searches of 243 cells. Prison workers also seized 160 SIM cards, nearly 6kg of tobacco, steroid pills and over 75 litres of fermenting liquid.
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PA)
As well as using drones to smuggle illicit items into cells, the report found that some staff members themselves had helped prisoners secure contraband. Security concerns have been raised after 15 occasions where workers at the prison either took or were caught taking in banned goods. On one occasion a set of keys even left the premises, posing a big safety risk.
The report confirmed that several police operations have taken place as a result of the findings. It includes at least one conviction with further court appearances scheduled. It added: “A more pro-active approach to reducing the supply and demand of drugs within the prison is needed to improve safety.
“Throughout the year several police operations have taken place. As a result of these operations, arrests have been made, leading to at least one conviction so far with further court cases taking place in due course. From the 243 searches complete within cells, 117 of these had a positive find for contraband.”
Security concerns aren’t the only problem rattling UK prisons and it comes after overcrowding led to a desperate attempt by Tory Justice Secretary Alex Chalk to free up space by renting prisons from other countries. He admitted they would “explore renting overseas capacity” in a bid to battle a shortage of cells.
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