Drug drones deliver through prisons' ‘hole-ridden' perspex windows

Telegraph

24-06-2025

Criminals have used drones to deliver drugs through hole-ridden perspex windows on prisoners' cells, a watchdog has revealed.
The windows made it easier for crime gangs to deliver the drugs to inmates at HMP Leicester, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) warned.
Prison bosses were forced to replace deteriorated cell windows and their grills with perspex sheets that have holes in them.
The security flaw contributed to a 'disturbing' increase in the use of drones to deliver drugs and illegal mobile phones to prisoners.
They said the perspex sheets were 'not a suitable solution'. 'Not only does it allow for cold drafts in the winter but also increases drone access to deliver illicit items,' the board added.
'It is difficult to detect [drones] during the hours of darkness and is made easier by the deteriorating fabric of the cell windows and their grills.
'A bid for improved CCTV with night vision capability has been made to try and identify drone deliveries. However, these are likely to occur during hours of darkness when the staffing complement is much lower.'
Reoffenders smuggle drugs
It was not the only route, however, by which drugs were being smuggled into the jail, with evidence of prisoners recalled to prison for reoffending or breaching their licence being recruited to bring in the contraband.
'There is evidence of men returning to prison on recall being pressurised into bringing in illegal drugs by this route,' said the watchdogs.
Of 2,293 body scans on prisoners coming into reception when they entered the prison or there was a suspicion they had hidden them in their bodies, 11.7 per cent (307) were positive, 'invariably for organic matter drugs' such as cannabis.
The proportion of positive drug tests on prisoners had increased from one in five (20.5 per cent) in 2023 to 27.5 per cent in 2024. This indicated 'a significant and increasing amount of illegal drug use by prisoners,' said the watchdogs.
The number of intelligence reports of prisoners seen to be under the influence of drugs had also risen substantially to 486 occasions and was now frequently a daily occurrence. The drugs had contributed to a 31 per cent rise in violent incidents within the jail.
It is the latest jail where the deteriorating fabric of the prison estate has been blamed for a surge in drugs being flown to inmates' cell windows for them to then grab the drugs.
However, even where the prison service has replaced the windows, criminals have still found ways round the security. At HMP Manchester, the prisoners used kettle filaments to burn holes in the newly-fitted windows.
Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, warned in January that drone flying drug gangs had seized control of the airspace at the prison, which had contributed to a 'catastrophically high' level of illicit drugs in the jail.
HMP Manchester houses category A prisoners and inmates have included Ian Brady, the Moors murderer, Harold Shipman, the serial killer GP, and Charles Bronson, described as Britain's most violent prisoner.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: 'This Government is investing £40 million in new security measures this year to clamp down on the contraband that fuels violence behind bars.
'This includes £10 million on anti-drone measures such as exterior netting and reinforced windows.'