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Drone smuggling prison contraband gets stymied by stupidity
Smuggling contraband into prison via drone is a bad idea, even if you toss morals out the window: the aircraft are noisy, flashy, and require a good amount of skill to fly in undetected. However, some British crooks didn't get the memo. Police report that unidentified suspects tried using a drone (a DJI Phantom 2 Vision, to be exact) to sneak drugs, phones and weapons into Bedford Prison, only to be foiled when the machine got caught in barbed wire. Prisoners supposedly paid an inmate to accept a delivery from friends on the outside -- if so, there are quite a few people in hot water right now.
BlackBerrys for coppers: UK law enforcement to smarten up in 2010
Police men and women of Blighty are about to step into the 21st century, albeit a decade late, with a new weapon in the fight against boredom on the beat. The BBC reports that smartphones will become standard issue throughout the Queen's realm by March 2010, as a result of successful trials carried out in 30 constabularies through this year. Improved "operational efficiency" and reduced bureaucracy are argued as the key benefits, with a solid 30 minutes less time being spent in police stations each day. And we're absolutely positive that extra half hour will go toward increased "visibility in the community" and not checking out friends' Facebook status updates. No, really! Read -- BBC report Read -- Bedfordshire case study
