We first reported in January 2025 that drone deliveries of drugs and weapons into UK prisons had become a national security threat. At the time, HM Prisons Inspectorate set out a number of recommendations to counter these activities but it appears that little progress has been made.
A new report into operations at Highpoint prison in Suffolk, published 5 October, has found that drones are fuelling a “thriving drugs market” at the facility. The HM Prisons Inspectorate report notes that there had been a failure by the prison service to reduce Highpoint’s susceptibility to drones. “Many windows were vulnerable and prisoners had cut holes in the grilles to allow them to fish for the often-large packages that were being dropped off at the site.”
The number of prisoners found under the influence of illicit substances was high and inspectors smelt drugs around the prison. Inspectors did find however that prison leaders understood sources of ingress for drugs and other illicit items, including the threat posed by drones, and had taken some steps to improve physical security, such as repairing some damaged window grilles.
Earlier this year, following inspections at a prison in Manchester, the HM Prisons Inspectorate said the prison service had made “very little progress” in installing secure windows and grilles to stop drugs getting in, and half of the prisoners surveyed during the inspection said that it was easy to get hold of illicit substances.
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