Contraband drug seizures in federal prisons have surged 169% since Parliament enacted the so-called Drug-Free Prisons Act.Wardens have blamed advances in smuggling technology such as drones.Internal Department of Public Safety figures obtained by Blacklock's Reporter show drug seizures climbed from 2,444 in 2015 to 6,586 last year. A May 20 briefing note credited “the ongoing vigilance” of correctional staff in confronting an increase in drone incursions, adding that new detection tools and officer training would help improve results.The Drug-Free Prisons Act, passed in 2015, required addiction awareness programs for inmates and allowed for parole to be cancelled if prisoners failed a urine test. Critics at the time argued the law ignored the reality that most inmates reported prior drug use and that efforts to keep narcotics out of prisons had little chance of success.Recent anti-smuggling measures include cabinet’s approval of full-body scanners at all federal prisons and authorization of cellphone-jamming technology under the Radiocommunications Act. The correctional service has not disclosed when or where the jammers will be deployed.Despite these steps, drones remain a persistent problem. Access To Information records from 2024 detailed hundreds of drone flights over prisons, with some facilities reporting dozens of airborne deliveries worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. The devices, officials warned, are becoming cheaper, more capable, and harder to detect, often prompting lockdowns after sightings.
