Smuggling contraband to confederates in prison must rank as one of the world’s oldest forms of smuggling.
But if nothing else, it’s a skill that constantly needs an update.
And it has.
Gone is the traditional (and now discredited) file hidden away in the freshly-baked cake.
Still, when there is a will, there’s a way.
How, you might wonder, are things going in the digital age?
What’s new, you might ask, it the world of prison contraband smuggling?
Turns out. A lot.
The Montreal Gazette reports that new statistics from the Quebec Ministry of Public Security indicates a major hike in the use of drones to get illicit goods into Quebec prisons.
Over a four-year period that ended ended in mid-2016, the number of possible drone sightings by staff at detention centres multiplied by a factor of 30.
During the period covering 2013-2014, four possible sightings were reported. During the period covering 2016-2017, 120 sightings were reported.
According to The Gazette’s Paul Cherry, one of Canada’s top police and crime reporters, the use of drones shows no signs of decreasing.
Cherry reports that the current period (2017-2018) will likely set another record with 56 possible drone sightings reported so far.
Most of the contraband consists of drugs, smart phones, alcohol and tobacco.
How’s the new approach working?
According to the provincial government figures, which were released following an Access to Information request, guards at detention centres seized contraband half the time they investigated following a reported drone sighting.
And the department managed to add to its equipment based: during a three-year period from 2013 to 2016, guards managed to recover 11 drones.
Montreal Gazette, La Presse, Canadian Press
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