Drone deliveries have become almost daily in institutions, much to the dismay of correctional officers. Detainees are cutting out their windows to have drugs and weapons delivered directly to their cells.
“Clearly, we are losing control of the establishments in favor of those who traffic inside. What we intercept is only the tip of the iceberg, ”warns Mathieu Lavoie, president of the Union of Peace Officers in Correctional Services of Quebec.
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A bottle weighted with razor blades used to break anti-drone nets.
We have gone from around twenty drones reported nearby and intercepted annually 7 years ago to more than 350 in 2020, and this, only in provincial establishments, according to data from the Ministry of Public Security.
“It has been a scourge for over four years, mainly in prisons in Montreal, where it has become almost every day. Sometimes there are several drones at the same time as a distraction. Now, we also see them in the rest of the province, such as Hull, Quebec and Rimouski, ”reports Mr. Lavoie.
Same story in federal penitentiaries: “Before, it was mostly in maximum security institutions, like Donnacona. We see more and more drones in the mediums, ”explains Frédérick Lebeau, president of the Quebec region for the Union of correctional officers of Canada-CSN.
Broken windows
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An inmate at Donnacona Penitentiary removed the window from his cell frame to receive deliveries.
The inmates have a boundless imagination to be delivered without being pinched. In the prisons of Bordeaux and Rivière-des-Prairies, some have cut out their windows outright, probably with tools delivered by drone, in order to receive deliveries.
Several cells were condemned while they were being repaired, confirms Mathieu Lavoie.
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Another cut and tied with a wire a brick from the exterior wall of the Rivière-des-Prairies detention center. Once his delivery has been received, he replaces the brick, neither seen nor known.
“They get it right at the window. An even better delivery service than [celui de FedEx]. That way, it becomes practically undetectable, ”laments Frédérick Lebeau.
Recently, windows were also smashed in penitentiaries, including Donnacona.
For the benefit of organized crime
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A package including tobacco and hashish valued at over $ 37,000 delivered by drone was seized at Cowansville Institution in October.
Cellphones, USB chargers, tobacco, narcotics, drugs: these objects prohibited inside the walls are worth three to four times more expensive than in the street, estimate the two presidents. It is not uncommon for correctional officers to seize packages worth over $ 20,000.
“Criminal gangs laughed out loud. They get their drugs and can even make a profit by selling. With cellphones, pimps still work in prison, ”illustrates Jean Rousselle, member of the Liberal Party of Quebec and official opposition spokesperson for public security.
Proof that this is a particularly lucrative market, some drones used for deliveries are equipped with GPS or even thermal cameras, explains Mathieu Lavoie.
“These drones can be worth several thousand dollars and easily carry large quantities. Clearly, it is the street gangs and the organized crime behind it that are profiting, ”he concludes.
Drones reported and seized in Quebec prisons
- 2020-21: 354 *
- 2019-20: 225
- 2018-19: 173
- 2017-18: 180
- 2016-17: 120
- 2015-16: 27
* From 1er April 2020 to January 31, 2021
Source: Appropriations studies of the Ministry of Public Security
After drugs, the delivery of weapons?
Correctional officers who fear that knives and guns will be delivered by drone are raising their voices to demand means to stop this scourge.
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A knife and brass knuckles, delivered by drone, were seized in September at Donnacona penitentiary.
“A cell phone may seem trivial. But the day when a gun will come in, that’s another story. It worries us, ”says a correctional officer from Cowansville penitentiary, not authorized to speak to the media.
This week, at Bordeaux prison, officers seized a package delivered by drone containing tobacco, marijuana, screwdriver heads and knives, reports Mathieu Lavoie, president of the Union of peace officers in correctional services of Quebec. The next day, five drones were sighted in a single night, four of which flew at the same time.
Violence and drug debt
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The contents of the intercepted package (left) contained cellphones, hashish and tobacco in particular (photos on the right).
The presence of weapons and drugs inside the walls generates outbreaks of violence between incarcerated people and even against correctional officers, explains Mr. Lavoie. Not to mention the inmates who accumulate debts to pay for their drugs, which leads to conflict.
For this reason, the president has been asking the government for at least four years now for efficient tools to detect drones that fly over detention centers.
“We are always told that it is coming, that there are calls for tenders in progress, but nothing is happening, deplores Mathieu Lavoie. The technology exists, but it will take investment. We have tools, but they were supposed to be temporary and that we have been using for years. “
Wave jammers
For a little over a year, Cowansville penitentiary has been equipped with a portable drone detector.
“At first it worked well. Then, we noticed that the detector only sounds when the drone leaves the perimeter. They have wave jammers. So hard for us to know where the delivery was dropped Explains the correctional officer.
“The technology detects some types of drones, but not all. And it didn’t take long for the inmates to know which ones, ”says Frédérick Lebeau, president of the Quebec region for the Union of Correctional Officers of Canada-CSN.
In Donnacona, they were promised a 3D radar detection system that was to be operational this month.
“But the deadline has been pushed back to the spring or summer of 2022,” said Mr. Lebeau. There is clearly a lack of political will. “