One of Canada’s newest jails is researching the use of detectors to prevent the invasion of drug-bearing drones that have plagued some North American prisons.
Tim Carroll, superintendent of the Northeast Nova Scotia Correctional Facility, said staff are examining ways to prevent unmanned aerial vehicles from lowering contraband into the jail’s airing yards in a rural area north of Truro.
“We’re looking at both obtaining our own drones for … perimeter checks and verifying surveillance in and around our correctional facility and, in addition to that, detecting drones which are not government operated and that may pose a threat to the facility,” he said in an interview.
Incidents recorded in South Carolina and Quebec in the past two years prompted Carroll’s interest as he worked on plans for the 100-cell jail, which opened Feb. 8.
“We want to take advantage of the modern technology out there. Drones are part of everyday life now. … they’re going to be impacting security,” he said.