Sky News has captured recent footage of two separate drone-drops at HMP’s Wandsworth and Long Lartin. 

Over the last year 1,712 drone drops have been recorded in prisons across England and Wales  – a 43% rise. Since 2021, drone incidents over prisons have increased 1,140%. Drone deliveries typically include illicit contraband, drugs, mobile phones – and even weapons. 

Though 400-metre Drone Restricted Fly Zones were introduced around all closed prisons in January 2024 – making it an offence to pilot a drone in these areas without authorisation – significant challenges remain. 

“We inspected prisons where the netting wasn’t in place, the netting over exercise yards had fallen down in some places,” said Charlie Taylor, the Chief Inspector of Prisons.  “We saw windows… which were being broken, they hadn’t been fixed. We saw CCTV cameras in high security jails not functioning properly.” 

The Ministry of Justice commented: “We are taking this risk extremely seriously, which is why we are investing £40m in new security measures, including exterior netting and reinforced windows, and working with the police to tackle the serious organised criminals behind this threat.”

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