Drones, contraband and the evolving security challenge in U.S. prisons

Drone incursions over U.S. prisons surged in recent years, with the Federal Bureau of Prisons reporting 479 drone-related incidents at federal facilities in 2024, up from 23 in 2018. The rise tracks advances in drone technology and the growing use of unmanned aircraft to smuggle contraband such as drugs, cash, and cellphones into facilities.

Federal regulations limit state action against drones, prohibiting shot down or jamming and requiring authorities to rely on detection and confiscation rather than force. That constraint has helped drive investment in sensor networks and response teams, particularly in larger states with multiple institutions.

South Carolina has developed a statewide drone detection system for its medium and maximum security prisons. When a drone is overhead, select staff receive a cellphone alert and a dedicated drone response team is dispatched to the drop location. The state has logged hundreds of incursions in recent years, including 262 in 2022, up from 69 in 2019. The system enables rapid interception and often prevents a payload from reaching inmates as crews track the craft in real time.

As drone technology has evolved, smuggling missions have grown more elaborate. Heavier lift drones now fly at speeds above 75 mph and can haul 25 pound duffle bags of contraband over prison fences. Earlier models carried roughly four pounds at 45 mph, but capabilities have expanded notably in recent years.

Criminal drone pilots are often former inmates with outside connections who communicate through illegal cellphones smuggled into facilities. In some cases, pilots camo payloads to evade detection, simulating natural objects on the yard or using grass-like camouflage to blend with the ground.

In many incidents, authorities are able to confiscate drones and review flight records to reconstruct a drone's path. The in-flight data can point to a suspect outside the fence, sometimes even leading investigators to a residence. One case involved a drone that photographed a suspect's mailbox, guiding officers to make an arrest.

The risk of powerful illicit drugs makes the choice not to shoot down drones important; authorities note that disabling a drone could send it crashing into neighborhoods or inside prison walls. High potency fentanyl has been encountered in past seizures, underscoring the stakes.

The Federal Aviation Administration prohibits states from downing drones, which are registered aircraft, leaving detection and confiscation as the main tools. In the meantime, there is growing interest in radio jamming as a way to block inmate communications, an approach the Federal Communications Commission is considering to reduce the use of illegal cellphones used to coordinate smuggling.

State and federal officials say the broader trend is a national security and public health issue, with prisons adapting to a new generation of drone technology while regulators assess how to expand countermeasures. The experience of South Carolina, a state with a formal drone detection program, provides a glimpse of how a coordinated approach can curb prolific smuggling attempts even as criminals alter tactics.