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New drone law prohibits flying within 500 feet of prison

By Joe Bruno, wsoctv.com
By Joe Bruno, wsoctv.com

As drones continue to get more popular, laws are starting to adapt.

A new law is trying to keep drones away from jails and prisons to keep dangerous items from being dropped inside.

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Under the new law, people flying a drone within 500 feet of a jail or prison could be charged with a felony.

Security expert Walter Kimble said this is an issue no one would have envisioned five years ago.

“It's a problem,” Kimble said.

While it is expected that drones will be banned near places such as the airport, Gov. Roy Cooper is cracking down on the aircraft near prisons and jails.

“Whenever the technology is there to make something, the technology is also there to subvert it to criminal activity 'cause that's just the way people think,” Kimble said.

In February, prison officials from North Carolina and South Carolina told Channel 9 drones are a huge problem.

They said a cellphone is typically smuggled into the prisons, and then inmates use the phone to order banned items from the drone operator. Loved ones on the outside typically pay for the contraband.

The most common contraband include weapons, cellphones, cigarettes and marijuana.

Earlier this month, authorities in South Carolina said an inmate serving five life sentences used wire cutters flown in by a drone to escape.

He was found with weapons, ammunition, cellphones and nearly $50,000 in cash.

It's not just keeping drones away, it's finding out who is navigating them.

Kimble expects a solution to that soon.

“I think our technology is going to evolve to a point where we can identify more quickly the drone operator,” Kimble said.

In South Carolina, the director of state prisons has asked that cellphone service be blocked so inmates can’t place their orders for dangerous items.

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