US EditionDrugs Smuggled Into Prisons 'Destabilising' Them, Watchdog Says
- Chief Inspector Charlie Taylor released the prisons watchdog's annual report on July 8, 2025, warning that criminal gangs use drones to deliver drugs and weapons to prisons like HMP Manchester and Long Lartin.
- The report highlights severe overcrowding, lack of purposeful activity, and ineffective security, all of which fuel violence, widespread drug use, and staff manipulation by inmates in many UK prisons.
- Taylor emphasized that drones can smuggle packages up to 10 kilograms directly to cells using precise location apps, which poses a new and serious national security risk.
- The government has pledged £40 million to enhance prison security and is cooperating with police to combat drone deliveries and stop contraband that destabilizes prisons and harms rehabilitation efforts.
- Failure to address drone smuggling and overcrowding compromises the safety of staff and prisoners, requiring urgent government action to prevent further threats and improve prison conditions long term.
17 Articles
17 Articles
Drones could be used to help inmates escape jail as prisons 'cede airspace' to crime gangs
Drones could be used to lift inmates over prison walls and help them escape, a prisons watchdog has warned.Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said drones are also being used to make drug deliveries to Manchester and Long Lartin prisons, which have held terrorists and organised crime bosses.In his annual report published today, Taylor said police and the prison service have "ceded the airspace" above the two high security prisons to "…
Drones are now so powerful they could potentially lift prisoners from detention centre yards and fly them to freedom, meaning security needs to be beefed up, the UK’s prison inspectorate has warned.
Strangeways prison staff 'manipulated' by inmates amid threat to national security - Manchester Evening News
A scathing new report has revealed how drones are regularly making deliveries of drugs into HMP Manchester with 'inexperienced staff' struggling to cope
Drones are sending 'overwhelming amounts' of drugs into prisons - and could help inmates escape, report warns
The HMP chief inspector of prisons has issued a stark warning over drugs being delivered via drones - saying "the police and prison service have in effect ceded the airspace" over two Category A jails.
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