Drones used to smuggle drugs and phones into prisons – most fly to Saughton
The justice magazine, 1919, has reported its findings after making a Freedom of Information request to The Scottish Prison Service, revealing that HMP Edinburgh has detected the highest number of drones being used to bring drugs and phones into any Scottish prison. Eleven drones have been detected by HMP Edinburgh since 2021.
Nine unauthorised drones have been found in the last three months. Between August 2020 and July 2021, almost 9,000 items of mail sent into Scottish jails tested positive for an illegal drug.
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) says it is using “all technological and intelligence tools available” to tackle the issue of drugs being brought into the estate. An SPS spokesperson said: “We work with Police Scotland, and other partners, to take action against those who attempt to breach our security, via drones or by other means.
“These efforts have led to a significant reduction in drug take incidents in our establishments, and as a result, the harm caused to the health and wellbeing of those in our care.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We continue to support the Scottish Prison Service and Police Scotland’s joint efforts to prevent the supply of illegal drugs.
“SPS continues to work tirelessly to adapt its security measures to prevent, detect and deter the introduction of contraband in prisons.”
Citizen Ticket
The Citizen Ticket organisation has just appointed a new chair, Carolyn Jameson who was an executive and Chief Legal Officer with Skyscanner. She played a key role in the £1.4 billion sale of the business to travel giant Ctrip.
The business was founded by Edinburgh businessman Harry Boisseau who said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Carolyn as our new Chair, an appointment which underlines our ambition to become the most fundamental platform for events and experiences while making a lasting positive impact to our planet.
“Carolyn is a highly skilled and experienced operator within the global tech sector and a key player who has helped scale major technology businesses to reach their full market potential. She brings real substance to our team and will be a major contributing factor to our future success and growth.”
Porty Central
Porty Central the charity behind the Portobello Town Hall reopening for the community has raised the initial £25,000 they need to open the doors. But you can still donate to help them create a financial cushion for the first few months while the trustees get things going.
The council have made the hall wind and watertight for Porty Central to take it over and offer it to local groups and people for bookings. They envisage weddings, parties and markets taking place in the hall and the car park from this summer.
This story has been ongoing for quite a while – read more here and here.
At Edinburgh Science Festival today
Edinburgh author and CBeebies screenwriter, Emily Dodd, will take children over the age of seven on a scientific story adventure today at 2pm. The hour long session will take place at the Auditorium in the National Museum of Scotland.
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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
