COMMON SENSE NEEDED !

Drones have steadily developed their role as a military weapon.  They are a lot cheaper than humans flying expensive jet aircraft in delivering precision bombing of targets in the Middle East war and the operators are safe from harm, sitting at a console an entire continent away from the action.

This Christmas, toy drones are sure to be high on the list of expectations for not only kids, but perhaps also their Dads.  A full page advertisement in many newspapers advertised an advanced drone equipped with a built-in camera.  The operator would have the view from the drone on the control console and could zoom in for closer shots and generally use this function to navigate with extreme accuracy.  This model is advertised at a mere ninety-nine dollars.

Obviously, the functionality of drones will not be lost on our criminal fraternity, and the terrorists in the Middle East have good reason to fear a Hellfire missile coming out of a clear blue sky and opening the door to Paradise.  That ninety-nine dollar toy is quite capable of being converted to a tool of the crime world.

Goulburn prison is our most secure penitentiary and it houses the "Supermax " which holds the worst murderers, rapists and terrorists.   This week at night  a warden noticed a drone hovering above the prison.  When he shone his torch on it it's detection caused it to rapidly leave the area and a search by police and warders failed to locate the operator.   What seems amazing is that there are no laws in place to prevent drones from flying in the air space above prisons.

The only law applicable to zones concerns their use near airports and bars them from flying anywhere within a five kilometre radius, and all drones are not permitted to fly above four hundred metres to avoid collision with light aircraft and helicopters.

It is not hard to envisage the purposes that drones could play in delivering contraband to prisons, or how they could be instrumental in enabling a raiding party to break out prisoners.  A video on social media has demonstrated a Glock pistol being successfully aimed and fired by a remote operator when it was combined with a drone.   It is quite possible that terrorists aiming to free colleagues would not hesitate to use this method to kill warders on sentry duty.

Our prison system is under constant attack by smugglers introducing drugs - and the "must have " item sought by most prisoners - mobile phones.   The almost silent drones, equipped with cameras - have the capacity to fly into prison grounds at night and deposit contraband for prisoners to recover.  There is a very real danger that this could also be the conduit for arms smuggling, leading to an internal breakout.

Common sense dictates that we need an urgent law to protect the air space above prisons and a lot more thought is needed beyond just passing a law that may be broken by the elements determined to penetrate prison security.    Our military are well aware that all sides in conflicts use drones and methods to detect them have been developed.   It may be that very sensitive prisons such as the Supermax may need close proximity radar to instantly warn of a drone approach.

That intrusion at Goulburn prison is probably the forerunner of what is yet to come.  The capacity of drones will continue to develop and there are very enterprising people amongst the criminal and terrorist regimes that seek to do us harm.   We would be wise to consult our military planners and use their advanced knowledge of how best to thwart the drone menace.  Otherwise, it will be a case of trying to plug gaps after a successful penetration has caused havoc !