NSW prison staff want drone guns to stop contraband drops

The NSW government is procuring drone detection technology for jails across the state to combat the "emerging threat" of contraband smuggled in from the sky.

It comes after two separate attempts to allegedly use drones to smuggle drugs into jails on the state's south coast within a fortnight.

On October 10, police arrested a 35 year-old man near the perimeter of South Coast Correctional Centre in Nowra, after a package of drugs was allegedly flown into jail by a drone.

Two weeks earlier, police arrested two men on the Far South Coast after a failed attempt to allegedly deliver drugs to prisoners via drone at the Cooma Correctional Centre.

In a statement, a spokesperson for NSW Corrections Minister Anoulack Chanthivong said the government was taking steps to procure counter drone technology to combat the growing danger.

"Organised crime groups are increasingly turning to sophisticated drone technology in an attempt to evade prison security," the spokesperson said.

"Corrective Services NSW is exploring new drone detection technologies as part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen prison security and combat emerging threats."

Prison union demands 'drone guns'

The Public Service Association of NSW, which represents NSW prisons staff, has called for new laws to allow corrections officers to wield electronic devices that can force drones to land. 

Speaking to the latest incident at South Coast Correctional Centre, secretary Stewart Little said the current technology available to correctional centres was rudimentary.

"It was really only by chance that we had officers [who] saw the drone, and then basically were able to follow it back and apprehend the alleged operator," Mr Little said.

Mr Little said he wanted correctional staff to have access to portable drone disruption devices or "drone guns".

He said corrections officers were not legally allowed to use the technology that used a burst of radio frequency signal to force a drone to land.

"We're [going to need] legislative change at the federal level, but we've got to get this technology brought in," Mr Little said.

He said the greatest fear held by staff was that firearms could be smuggled into prisons using similar means.

"The last thing you want to see is any sort of weapons, particularly firearms, being brought into a correctional centre."

Radio frequency detection

A spokesperson from Mr Chanthivong's office said a specialist working group had identified radio frequency (RF) detection and radar as the preferred technology for procurement.

The department declined to comment on the purchase timeline and specifics of the technology sought, due to the commercial nature of the pending procurement.

Both RF detection and radar technology has previously been tested in an Australian prison by security company DroneShield in 2021. 

In a media release since removed from the Australian company's website, it said the technology allowed "precise tracking of airborne [drones] up to 1km", with new threats identified within one second of entering radar range.

A DroneShield spokesperson confirmed the existence of a previous trial at an Australian jail. 

“DroneShield has deep capability in the prison security sector and has trialled the technology in recent years. We are not able to comment on project specifics or procurement processes,” a spokesperson said.