On any given day, drones buzz in the skies above Quebec’s detention centres looking to drop tobacco, drugs or cellphones to the inmates below.
Statistics from Quebec’s public security minister show staff reported 274 drones flying over provincial centres between January and March—or just over three per day. That doesn’t include the 10 federally-managed prisons in the province.
Corrections spokespeople and a drone expert say the problem is growing, dangerous and hard to stop, despite millions of dollars invested by provincial and federal governments.
Stéphane Blackburn, the managing director for Quebec’s correctional services, described the threat of airborne contraband as “something we face every day.”…