07-07-2025
Drones ‘could soon be used to fly prisoners out of jail'
Drone technology is developing at such a speed that they could soon be used to facilitate a prison escape, the prisons watchdog has warned.
Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, said that the level of risk posed by drones is 'different from what we've seen in the past'.
Drone are now so sophisticated that packages of up to 10kg are being flown over prison gates, routinely offering inmates a 'menu of drugs,' as well as mobile phones, weapons and other contraband.
Delivering his annual report on prisons, Taylor warned there was a 'theoretical possibility' that a prisoner could be lifted out of jail by a drone in the near future.
He said: 'What's scary — and we haven't reached this stage yet — but if you look on Google you'll be able to see someone being lifted up by a drone. So you know this isn't ultimately just a risk of what might come in, there is also a danger of what might go out of prisons as well.
