Drone sightings and contraband drops from the unmanned aerial vehicles over prisons continue to be a problem for Correctional Service Canada (CSC) and its institutions.

Through an Access to Information Act request, the Whig-Standard was given documents releasing details of drone sightings on six separate days and one drone drop of contraband at one area institution in 2015.

The application for the information was sent to CSC in January of this year and received earlier this month, a wait of almost nine months.

The Whig-Standard received copies of officers’ statement/observation reports of the drone sightings at Collins Bay Institution, which took place on Aug. 3, Aug. 5, Aug. 21, Aug. 26, Nov. 15 and Dec. 16 of 2015.

The drop of contraband that occurred in the evening of Aug. 5 resulted in a cellphone and 180 grams of tobacco being seized at the medium-security unit of the institution.

Guards noticed the drop and were able to retrieve the items before inmates had access to them.

A lockdown was then ordered for an exceptional search of the institution. It lasted almost a week.

The institutional value of the seizure was $13,500.

In the provided information, the correctional officer who retrieved the items wrote that a droned was noticed flying low over the institution just before 10 p.m. during inmate changeover time.

"I looked up to the south end of the Programs building and observed an object fall from the sky. It looked to fall on the east side of the Programs building or on its roof."

The officer wrote that they looked up to the sky again and saw and heard a drone flying overhead. It went in a western direction after dropping the contraband, the guard said.

"I rushed over and secured the item into my possession," the officer said.

The officer then secured the area with the help of colleagues and informed Keeper’s Hall via main control of the situation. Inmates in the area of the drone drop were also frisked before being allowed back in their cells.

"The object appeared to be a yellow flotation device that had two nylon flex cuffs and a cellophane-wrapped package containing undisclosed items," wrote the officer.

Other reports from the incident said officers conducted a search of the grounds near where the drop was made and on the roof of the Programs building, but nothing else was found.

A search was also conducted early the next morning under the light of day and nothing out of the ordinary was located.

But the same officer who retrieved the drone drop items found an item in another part of the institution a few hours later that may have been related to another, undetected drone drop.

"I did observe in the garbage can a flotation device that was similar to the other object I had seized by the west wall of the Programs building," the officer said.

During the search of the institution following the drop, sources said, officers found the charger for the cellphone and an equal weight of tobacco and narcotics in a prisoner’s cell on Aug. 11.

The two drone sightings later that month, on Aug. 21 and 26, generated six reports from correctional officers in which they said the drone was flying around the institution’s west wall and that a search was conducted but nothing was found.

After the drone sighting in the evening of Nov. 15, 2015, inmates’ outside exercise privileges and chapel activities were cancelled so officers could search the area. No contraband was found.

Information on drone sightings or drops for 2016 is not yet available, an official from CSC said.

Kyle Lawlor, assistant regional communications manager for the Ontario region, said those statistics are not compiled until the end of the year.

However, sources inside Collins Bay Institution said there have been approximately three drone sightings so far in 2016, the most recent being earlier this month, but no contraband drops.

All of the drone activity in 2015 centred around Collins Bay Institution. Its proximity to nearby fields, as well as a large commercial area on the other side of Bath Road where a drone could be controlled, makes it a likely target. Drone sightings at Millhaven and Joyceville institutions are believed to be rare because both prisons are surrounded by land controlled by the institutions and are in rural areas.

In the access to information request, the Whig-Standard also asked to see meeting notes regarding drone activity in CSC’s Ontario region and meeting notes with the Ontario Provincial Police Joint Forces Penitentiary Squad-Criminal Investigative Branch. That information was withheld pursuant to sections on the act saying the information could interfere with a criminal investigation, may affect the safety and security of the institution, or the release of personal information may contravene the Privacy Act.

Officials at CSC are reluctant to talk about drones publicly and how they plan to combat them.

"For safety and security reasons, CSC cannot disclose which technology and design features are in use at any specific facility, which would also relate to drones at our facilities." wrote Lawlor in an email to the Whig-Standard.

He added that CSC takes contraband entering its facilities seriously.

"CSC has a zero tolerance policy on illegal drugs and contraband in institutions. CSC has a number of tools available that are used to prevent the flow of drugs and contraband into our institutions. These include searches of inmates and visitors, ion scanners, drug dogs and searches of buildings and cells." wrote Lawlor.

The email went on to talk about their policies on lockdowns, exceptional searches and said employee safety is a fundamental priority for CSC.

Although they remain tight-lipped on their policy to combat drones, Don Head, the commissioner of CSC, will be conducting a seminar titled "The Menace of Drones in a Prison Environment" at the Countering Drones conference in London, England, from Dec. 6 to 8.

Some of his topics will include: Analysis of incidents involving criminal drones in and around the prison environment and the emerging threat to the prison population; ways to enhance security and prevent drone-delivered contraband; what requirements do prisons need to counter drones in the future; and what’s realistic for the prison environment.

The conference will also hear from speakers about airport security, safeguarding nuclear sites from drone attacks, New York City Police Department’s response to the proliferation of civilian drones, as well as drones at large public events and drone smuggling and spying at sea ports.

imacalpine@postmedia.com

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Drones ‘a challenge both sides face’

Unions and management are often at loggerheads on many issues, but when it comes to combatting drones over prison airspace, the national union representing federal correctional service officers and Correctional Service Canada are working in concert.

Jason Godin, president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, said in an interview this week that CSC is keeping the union informed on its anti-drone strategy.

“It’s one of those things that we really can’t beat them up on because it’s a challenge that both sides face,” he said. “Certainly, both the CSC and the union, we recognize it’s a problem and obviously we know there’s incidents that are occurring.

“We’re looking at different technologies with CSC, but we haven’t landed on what’s the most appropriate one. There’s technology that detects drones, but what do we do after we detect it.”

Last month, Godin was invited by CSC to attend a demonstration on anti-drone technology in the Quebec region at the Drummondville Institution.

“Detection devices was the main focus,” he said.

Godin said CSC is looking at how other countries deal with drones over their institutions.

“We’re interested in any technology or any types of preventative measures or stopping measures that are being experimented with in various countries around the world,” he said.

Godin said drone sightings and drops occur in the Ontario and Quebec regions, but he doesn’t have information on CSC’s other regions.

“So far, it’s been primarily in Ontario and Quebec, and I really couldn’t go on the record to say how many were outside of the two regions,” he said.

Last year, Postmedia Network reported CSC investigated six incidents between July 2013 and September 2014 in which drones were used in attempts to smuggle drugs or tobacco into federal penitentiaries in Ontario and Quebec.

Godin is not sure if the problem is Canada-wide or just in the two regions.

“Is it occurring as frequently in the other provinces? We just don’t have enough data at this point to determine that.”

Godin admits it’s a challenging problem.

“We can’t hide from it; we have to face it head on. It’s a reality and we have to figure out how to manage that.”