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posted by martyb on Saturday July 08 2017, @07:08PM   Printer-friendly
from the or-issue-hunting-permits dept.

Officials at the Lieber Correctional Institution in Ridgeville, South Carolina say that a prisoner escaped by using wire cutters flown in by a drone:

A fugitive South Carolina inmate recaptured in Texas this week had chopped his way through a prison fence using wire cutters apparently dropped by a drone, prison officials said Friday. Jimmy Causey, 46, fled the Lieber Correctional Institution in Ridgeville, S.C., on the evening of July 4th after leaving a paper mache doll in his bed to fool guards into thinking he was asleep. He was not discovered missing until Wednesday afternoon.

[...] The director said he and other officials have sought federal help for years to combat the use of drones to drop contraband into prison. "It's a simple fix," Stirling said. "Allow us to block the signal. Allow us to stop them to have unfettered access ... They are physically incarcerated, but they are not virtually incarcerated." "As long as they have access to cellphones, this is just going to keep on happening and happening and happening," he said, The Post and Courier reported.

Also at LA Times and The Washington Post.


Original Submission

Related Stories

Department of Homeland Security Terror Bulletin Warns of "Weaponized Drones" 37 comments

Homeland Security bulletin warns of weaponized drones and threat to aviation

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued an updated terror bulletin on Thursday highlighting the threat of weaponized drones, chemical attacks and the continued targeting of commercial aircraft.

"We continue to face one of the most challenging threat environments since 9/11, as foreign terrorist organizations exploit the internet to inspire, enable or direct individuals already here in the homeland to commit terrorist acts," reads the bulletin.

[...] "The current bulletin introduces unmanned aircraft systems as potential threats and highlights sustained concern regarding threats against commercial aviation and air cargo," said DHS acting press secretary Tyler Houlton in a statement.

There's been an "uptick in terrorist interest" in using unmanned aerial systems as weapons in the United States and other western countries, according to a senior DHS official. These tactics have been used by terrorists on the battlefield, and the department wants to "guard against those tactics being exported to the west," said the official. The official said that DHS wants to be "forward leaning" about seeing what terrorists are doing overseas and tactics they might adopt in the future.

Since the last bulletin, concerns about terrorist targeting aviation sector have grown, said the official. "[T]errorists continue to target commercial aviation and air cargo, including with concealed explosives," reads the updated bulletin.

Related: UK Criminals Use Drones To Case Burglary Targets
Drones Banned from Flying Within 32 Miles of Super Bowl
FAA Updates its Ban on Drones in Washington
Prison Blames Drone for Inmate's Escape
FAA Restricts Drone Operations Over 10 U.S. Landmarks


Original Submission

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  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday July 08 2017, @07:18PM (1 child)

    by Gaaark (41) on Saturday July 08 2017, @07:18PM (#536611) Journal

    When did they start letting the boys run prisons?

    Nyuk nyuk.

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
    • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 08 2017, @07:31PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 08 2017, @07:31PM (#536615)

      The boys did some of their best work during the Great Depression when they played three stooges who were always the lowest bidders for odd jobs. What else would you expect now that we are living through the Great Lingering Recession.

  • (Score: 2) by Snotnose on Saturday July 08 2017, @07:25PM (3 children)

    by Snotnose (1623) on Saturday July 08 2017, @07:25PM (#536612)

    This guy is serving 4 life terms so I'm guessing he's in a pretty secure facility. Took him several minutes to cut a hole in the fence. There were probably more than 1 fence, maybe 3-4. If I was designing a prison I'd made the space between fences a no man's land with clear sightlines to all parts.

    So not only did this guy take several minutes cutting through multiple fences, it took the guards over 12 hours to notice the holes in the fence? I mean, What's This Feature? Do the guards just stare at their feet all day, or what?

    --
    Why shouldn't we judge a book by it's cover? It's got the author, title, and a summary of what the book's about.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 08 2017, @08:59PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 08 2017, @08:59PM (#536634)

      For 11 USD per hour, yes, that's exactly what they do. Occasionally, when they had a bad start of the day at home, they take it out on inmates too. Sometimes they even organize mandatory fight clubs or run protection rackets. They even have the inmates fight turf-wars as proxies for animosity between guards.

      • (Score: 2) by Snotnose on Saturday July 08 2017, @10:08PM

        by Snotnose (1623) on Saturday July 08 2017, @10:08PM (#536659)

        In California prison guards make something like $76k per year, plus overtime, which they always use to jack them up to $100k+ per year.

        That said, I think they should be paid $minimum_wage * 2.5, but I'm not in charge, just on the hook.

        --
        Why shouldn't we judge a book by it's cover? It's got the author, title, and a summary of what the book's about.
      • (Score: 2) by VLM on Sunday July 09 2017, @12:27PM

        by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Sunday July 09 2017, @12:27PM (#536805)

        I was bored enough to google and in SC its more like $14/hr. Turnover must be extremely high because the mean is essentially the hiring pay rate although the 75th and 90th percentile and all that is a lot higher. Figure your average guard is an inexperienced underpaid noob although there are occasional lifers or lower level mgmt mis-categorized as guards.

        Speaking of inexperienced high turnover underpaid drones, err, guards vs drones, I wonder how much money it costs to pay a guard to smuggle in a wire cutter and tell the boss a drone did it vs the likely enormous expense of actually using a drone.

        Its a little better than call center work but not much.

        Also google indicates the feds require considerable years of experience and a college degree before you get the feds starting wage, so prison guard is not necessarily an entry level job so comparing a mid-career job to other job fields is kinda "eh".

        There's a lot of money in prisons but not for the guards. Its like K12 education or industrial farming, people making lots of money, but not the front line employees. Notice how someone is about to get a bazillion dollar high tech contract for an expensive jammer, compared to a more realistic solution like netting over the facility, at least over the outdoor rec facilities, or having enough guards motivated to do their job.

  • (Score: 0, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 08 2017, @07:37PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 08 2017, @07:37PM (#536617)

    Excape

    Excape

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 08 2017, @07:44PM (8 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 08 2017, @07:44PM (#536618)

    I have worked in a number of prison facilities ; thus I have knowledge of how these places are run.

    Strip searches are ( or should be ) standard procedure after visits. This means that the way most inmates get cell phones is with the help of a guard who is paid to smuggle the phone into the facility. Yes, guards are often crooked. Guards are quite frankly worse scum than many of the inmates, and anyone who has spent time around a prison can verify this.

    It would be trivially easy to detect cell phone signals from within the prison. Guards or other prison personnel are typically not allowed to use their personal cell phones while in the facility. This means that any cell signal would probably be associated with a phone being in the hands of a person who should not have it, and that would mean it's time for a shakedown of the entire facility, which usually will produce other fun things ( like shanks, AKA home made knives ).

    The perimeter of the prison should be equipped with laser alarms which sound when the beam is triggered. This sort of alarm setup means that unless a tunnel is used it is impossible to escape without an alarm being sounded.

    Frankly it sounds like the prison in question was run and staffed by incompetents. When they re-capture the escapee they should send him to the Federal ADX in Florence Colorado. He would never escape from there, nor will anyone else.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 08 2017, @07:58PM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 08 2017, @07:58PM (#536621)

      The perimeter of the prison should be equipped with high power lasers just like the ones in Resident Evil.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 08 2017, @08:11PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 08 2017, @08:11PM (#536625)

        The Federal prisons I've visited all used guards who constantly drove around the outside perimeter ( on a road which borders the outside of two fences which are outside of the laser alarm perimeter ).

        These guards all carry an M-16. The M-16 would achieve the same end result as the lasers you mention, and they cost a lot less.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 08 2017, @08:31PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 08 2017, @08:31PM (#536629)

          It really worked for this guy.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 09 2017, @01:22AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 09 2017, @01:22AM (#536717)

            The guy didn't escape from a Federal prison. You need to work on your reading comprehension.

    • (Score: 1) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday July 08 2017, @09:06PM (1 child)

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Saturday July 08 2017, @09:06PM (#536636) Homepage

      I've known a few like you, whether it be prison IT or prison psychology.

      Prisoners, especially American prisoners, are fiercely pragmatic creatures. They will outsmart you given the chance.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 09 2017, @02:14AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 09 2017, @02:14AM (#536726)

        "I've known a few like you, whether it be prison IT or prison psychology."
        .
        .

        Ahh, but you are off the mark with your guess. I said I had worked in some prisons, but I didn't say what kind of work I did. I worked as an inmate, not as staff or contracted employee. That's right, I was locked up in these prisons so I had lots of time to observe and think about stuff. My opinion after years of observation for the Federal prisons in which I was an inmate was that escape was close to impossible without help from outside the prison or from staff who worked in the prison. Records of actual escapes from Federal prisons support my opinion, by the way.
        .
        .

        "Prisoners, especially American prisoners, are fiercely pragmatic creatures. They will outsmart you given the chance."
        .
        .

        I hate to burst your bubble, but most American prisoners are really stupid AND horribly uneducated. There are rare exceptions, but they don't tend to mix with other inmates. The reality is not that the prisoners will "outsmart" the prison staff, the reality is that prisoners have 24 hours a day 7 days a week to think about whatever they want to think about ( which could include making hooch or planning an escape or making a shank, or any number of other things ) whereas prison staff only think about prison stuff for 8 hours a day five days per week. The prisoner has, in other words, the benefit of vast amounts of free time in which he can do whatever he likes, within certain limits. The situation is similar to the old idea about a million monkeys sitting at typewriters eventually ending up writing a Shakespeare play, in that even idiots can cook up schemes that will work if there is enough time available for scheming.
        .

        But escape IS rare, because as idiotic as prison staff are ( and they ARE a bunch of stupid people, trust me ) they have ( on the Federal level anyway ) taken numerous carefully considered preemptive measures to prevent escape. They also have an on-site team of guys who are basically a SWAT team, based near the prison, and that team is ready to do whatever is necessary ( ready to kill people, in other words ) to suppress unwanted behavior. However, you can be sure that a state prison in South Carolina is not run as well as most any Federal prison, just as the average cop is not as smart or well educated as an FBI agent. So an escape plan that might work in a South Carolina state prison is unlikely to succeed in a Federal prison.

    • (Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Sunday July 09 2017, @12:14AM (1 child)

      by wonkey_monkey (279) on Sunday July 09 2017, @12:14AM (#536697) Homepage

      This means that any cell signal would probably be associated with a phone being in the hands of a person who should not have it

      How good are we at pinpointing the location of a cell signal? Good enough that someone loitering in the parking lot wouldn't trigger the system?

      The perimeter of the prison should be equipped with laser alarms which sound when the beam is triggered.

      No, the perimeter of the prison should be equipped with something called a "wall."

      Lasers have no use in this case and would cause far more problems than they would solve.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 09 2017, @01:37AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 09 2017, @01:37AM (#536720)

        "No, the perimeter of the prison should be equipped with something called a "wall."
        Lasers have no use in this case and would cause far more problems than they would solve."

        .
        .

        You don't know anything about the subject of prison security, that is painfully obvious.

        Laser perimeter alarms ( which are typically several hundred feet INSIDE the fence or wall ) will be tripped by anyone who approaches the fence or wall and the alarm will be triggered, before the person who triggered the alarm can reach the fence or wall. The laser alarm system allows the guards to pinpoint the location of the laser beam breach and quickly respond. I doubt such a system was in place and operating at the prison the inmate escaped from, because if it was the inmate would not have been able to escape through the fence, since the guards would have arrived and captured the inmate before the inmate had time to cut the fence.

        The laser alarms work. I have seen them work. You're wrong if you think the laser alarms have no use. I'm sure the people who run prisons would find your opinion humorous though.

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by sjames on Saturday July 08 2017, @07:56PM (1 child)

    by sjames (2882) on Saturday July 08 2017, @07:56PM (#536620) Journal

    The first time he escaped, he hid in a garbage truck. The second time, he fooled guards for 18 hours or so with a paper mache bust (including bed check and morning roll call), Thus the problem is drones are able to fly over the prison?

    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 08 2017, @09:41PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 08 2017, @09:41PM (#536653)

      Because "drones" give you a whole new budget category that you can spend on shiny toys. See, instead of an increase to a single budget category, you now have two categories that each can grow independently^Wevery single time you ask for more money.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 08 2017, @08:06PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 08 2017, @08:06PM (#536624)

    Build a mesh fence over the prison to catch objects dropped from the air.

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by wonkey_monkey on Saturday July 08 2017, @08:34PM (1 child)

    by wonkey_monkey (279) on Saturday July 08 2017, @08:34PM (#536630) Homepage

    I think the real problem is the unfettered access that prisoners have to papier maché.

    "It's a simple fix," Stirling said. "Allow us to block the signal.

    Hmm, yes, simple you say.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 09 2017, @12:43AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 09 2017, @12:43AM (#536706)

      "Officers found a semi-automatic handgun, shotgun, ammo, four cell phones and $47,000 in cash on Causey, who also carried a South Carolina ID." If only they were allowed to block the signal!

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