Despite tighter security, smugglers are still finding ways to get illegal items into the nation's prisons using drones and inside help. But Acting Prisons Commissioner Hayden Forde tells the TV6 Morning Edition his officers are fighting back, intercepting several drops and cutting down the flow of contraband. Still, he admits rogue officers remain a major threat and says they must be rooted out.
00:00Prisons Commissioner Hayden Ford says attempts to smuggle illegal items into the nation's prisons are continuing unabated, with hundreds of drone flights recorded daily.
00:11He explains that based on flight patterns and the frequency of these drops, officers are unable to intercept every one, a challenge made worse by the lack of advanced technology to track or disable these devices.
00:25From April 4th, 2025 to October 4th, we have had at least sightings, 626 sightings of drones coming into our airspace.
00:43The vast majority of those flights are at the maximum security prison because our greatest population condensed at maximum security prison.
00:52The greatest amount of remanded inmates are at the maximum security prison.
00:57The Prisons Commissioner says the airspace above the nation's prisons must now be treated as a critical security zone, with drones flying at heights that make them nearly impossible to bring down.
01:09He notes that even when firearms are used, officers are unable to reach the devices because of their altitude and the wide area they cover.
01:20Commissioner Ford is calling for more advanced technology like geofencing and anti-drone devices to effectively detect and intercept these drones.
01:30And I'm not speaking about officers having an anti-drone gun trying to run down a drone.
01:35I'm not speaking about that. I'm speaking about full coverage for our estates.
01:40And if we have one device with a particular radius, then any drone that is coming into that space can be detected.
01:51We can disable it, bring it down safely.
01:55We can bring it down, it can crash.
01:57Or we can send it back to the handler, the pilot, and working with the police service, we will be able to trace that and hopefully effect an arrest.
02:10He further tells the morning edition that rogue elements within the prison service continue to aid inmates, undermining security from the inside.
02:19The commissioner says these officers can be described as extensions of the very gangs operating behind bars.
02:28We have individuals at the maximum security prison who it is reported that if a package is dropped in the airing yard will allow persons to go and retrieve it.
02:44We have had those reports.
02:49So officers are involved in that aspect of trafficking.
02:57And as far as I'm concerned, they are gang members because they are part of a criminal network.
03:02He says gathering evidence against complicit officers has been a challenge.
03:07But strategically placed CCTV cameras in all prisons would change that.
03:13With proper coverage, he says, the footage would reveal illicit activities, making it possible to identify uncharged officers involved in wrongdoing.
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