Relates to prohibiting civilian drone use within 1000 ft of a correctional facility

2 Co-sponsors

• Fredrick J. Akshar II
• Terrence P. Murphy

Title of bill

An act to amend the correction law, in relation to civilian drone use near a correctional facility

Purpose

To prohibit civilian drone use within one thousand feet of a correctional facility.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 amends the correction law by adding a new section 624 prohibiting drone use within 1000 feet of a correctional facility or a local correctional facility in this state. This section also defines the term drone pursuant to this provision and provides penalties for violating this law.

This prohibition shall not apply to the operation of a drone by any person or entity that the federal aviation administration has authorized to operate a drone from commercial purpose, where the drone is operated in a manner that complies with that authorization.

Section 2 provides the effective date.

Existing law

Article 22 of the Correction Law contains miscellaneous provisions. There is no existing law related to the regulation of civilian drone use in the Correction Law.

Justification

The use of unmanned aerial systems, or drones, including recreational civilian drone use, has increased exponentially in recent years. Drones have a variety of uses, including law enforcement, land surveillance, wildlife tracking, search and rescue operations, disaster response, border patrol and photography. While drone use has revolutionized these enterprises and lead to many successful innovations, not all drone use is innocuous. In August of this year a drone dropped a package containing tobacco, marijuana, and heroin into the Mansfield Correctional Institution in Mansfield, Ohio. Inmates discovered the package and it was only after a fight broke out relating to the package that authorities discovered that a drone was responsible for the illegal delivery. Similarly, that same month authorities in Maryland arrested two men for an alleged scheme to use a drone to deliver drugs, pornography, and a firearm into a prison. Police were responding to a report of a suspicious car near the Western Correctional Institution, in Cumberland, Maryland when they discovered the men inside the vehicle were in possession of an aerial drone, a handgun, drugs, and pornographic DVDs.

Contraband in prisons contributes to violence endangering the safety and wellbeing of both inmates and correctional staff. It is paramount that this state restricts the introduction of contraband into correctional institutions at every entry point. Today, this must include aerial access points through the use of drones.

To that end, this legislation prohibits civilian drone use within one thousand feet of a correctional facility. Violating this provision shall result in a civil penalty of $1000.00 for the first offense and is punishable as a misdemeanor for each subsequent offence. By restricting drone use in the immediate vicinity of a correctional institution this bill promotes a safer and more harmonious prison environment by keeping all members of the correctional community safe. For foregoing reasons it is imperative that this bill is enacted. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.