back to article Drones, weed and prison: Bloke pleads guilty over plan

A 37-year-old man has pleaded guilty to plotting to smuggle contraband into a British prison using a drone. Daniel Kelly, of Amblecote Meadows in Grove Park when he was initially charged, was pinned with attempting to smuggle prohibited items, which according to police included mobile phones and cannabis, into HMP Swaleside on …

  1. TwistUrCapBack

    "Kelly, currently of Wolfe Crescent, Charlton, has been remanded in custody "

    ... with his asshole packed full of goodies

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Why not let prisoners have weed? It's like the perfect prison drug. Nobody is going to riot if they have a fat stash.

    Get the prisoners to grow it on prison ground. The extra responsibilities would be good for rehabilitation.

    1. Known Hero
      Joke

      Cant do that, I heard it's a gateway drug !!

      Cant let prisoners have control of the gate !!

    2. Lamont Cranston

      People already moan that prisons are too soft.

      I'm sure this plan will be an easy sell to the electorate!

    3. d3vy

      Same reason they get alcohol... they are not there to have a good time.

      1. d3vy

        * don't get alcohol:)

      2. Cynic_999

        "

        Same reason they get alcohol... they are not there to have a good time.

        "

        People are sent to prison *as* punishment, not *for* punishment. The main reason that alcohol would be a bad idea is that unlike cannabis, it provokes violent and anti-social behaviour in many people.

        1. Eddy Ito

          But if they passed out weed wouldn't you just have folks lining up to get in to prison? I mean things are bad enough when pensioners in Japan are breaking the law just to get a bed and meals. Do we really want pot heads doing the same thing?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Joke

            But if they passed out weed wouldn't you just have folks lining up to get in to prison?

            On the plus side, that would make the detection of drug crime much easier for the police, also letting the politicians pretend to have achieved something, and reduce the costs of those expensive trials as well. Unfortunately that last point means that the lawyers wouldn't allow it.

        2. d3vy

          @Cynic

          That might be one factor however your argument is also true of diazipam and other sleeping pills, by that logic we should just sedate them for the length of their sentence and then let them out.

          Fact is, prison is there as punishment, it is not meant to be a pleasant experience, it needs to be unpleasant enough as to make it undesirable to return without crossing the line of being cruel.

          Seeing as cannabis is NOT required to sustain your life/mental state and what with it being illegal, of course it is going to be banned in prisons.

          1. Cynic_999

            @d3vy

            Many things that prisoners do in prison is not necessary. TV, music, limited recreation, being permitted to socialise with staff and other inmates, having a reasonable variety of food and beverages etc.

            These do not make prison pleasant, because they are all quite restricted, and the unpleasantness of any prison comes from the fact that the prisoner is locked within the establishment and does not enjoy anything like the freedoms of a non-prisoner. You would not enjoy a 5 star hotel if you knew that you were not permitted to leave.

      3. Vic

        they are not there to have a good time.

        A mate of mine spent a little while in HMP Winchester a few years back. He had a fully-kitted music studio to himself - no-one else seemed to want to use it.

        He was gutted when they moved him to Ford...

        Vic.

  3. bonkers

    The sad truth is that marijuana is a lot safer in prisons than the legal highs they've all taken to recently.

    I guess the "legal" stuff doesn't show up in tests that affect your parole and privileges.

    But then you might end up mad or brain damaged, no-one knows.

    If they can make an exception to the non-smoking rule for prisons, why not dope also, would calm things down, offer time for reflection, take the cartels with their punishment beatings out of system, all good things.

    Oh yeah, but half of them are in there for that in the first place.

    (actually 4000 for all drug offences in 85000 total)

    1. Mark 85
      Devil

      If they can make an exception to the non-smoking rule for prisons, why not dope also, would calm things down, offer time for reflection, take the cartels with their punishment beatings out of system, all good things.

      Wait a minute... prisoners in the UK can smoke cigs? Really? Here in the States they all, for the most part, are now "smoke free". I guess if ever wanted to do porridge time, I'd go the UK to do the crime.

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        "I guess if ever wanted to do porridge time, I'd go the UK to do the crime."

        That's a good idea. You'd probably still be young enough to appreciate the daylight when you got out too. We rarely apply 99 year sentences and multiple sentences are served concurrently rather than consecutively. You can even serve your 12 month driving ban while on a 5 year custodial sentence.

      2. phuzz Silver badge

        "I guess if ever wanted to do porridge time, I'd go the UK to do the crime."

        Sorry to put a dampener on your plans, but given the differences in the size of the prison population of the UK (~150 prisoners per 100,000) and the US (~700 per 100,000), you're much less likely to be sent to prison in the UK. Sucks eh?

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Investigation

    > prosecutor Dickon Reid told Maidstone Crown Court that “a fair amount of investigation” had gone into the prosecution

    "Yes, I, Sergeant Williams and Constable Jenkins each needed to purchase a top of the range drone and practice flying it extensively before we came to the conclusion that it was indeed feasible to use a drone to smuggle contraband into the prison yard. This conclusion was backed up by our children who were able to scientifically repeat the experiment."

  5. The_Idiot

    But... but...

    ... but I was only doin' me job, Yer Honour! One of the lags had put in an Amazon order!

  6. Baldy50

    Well the reality is!

    I have some friends retired and still serving at prisons and the DD's aren’t usually so high tech, cause a disturbance to distract the guards and throw it over the wall and sometimes on fire so it burns through the net.

    But drones are being used to get illegal substances into prisons, some of the tech for taking a drone down is worth a look and would you call a bird of prey tech?

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: Well the reality is!

      "would you call a bird of prey tech?"

      Only if it has a head mounted IoT cam for evidence gathering.

      The one with the thick leather gauntlets in the pocket ------------------>

  7. Suricou Raven

    Simple solution:

    Just put a net over any outdoors areas. Problem solved. You'll need a fine net to make sure nothing larger than a box of matches can fall through.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Happy

      Re: Simple solution:

      Make it a metal mesh over the whole prison and stop the use of Mobes as well

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like