
Escaped inmate may have used wire cutters delivered by drone - endswapper
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/south-carolina-inmate-captured-in-texas-after-second-escape/2017/07/07/238ec556-6304-11e7-80a2-8c226031ac3f_story.html
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tristanb
""“They have to land for you to get the contraband off of them,” he said.
“They can’t drop it like a bomb.”

This doesn't seem logical. I mean, (if) I were to attempt this, I'd fly a
drone very high out of site of the guards, with a downward facing camera. Wait
until I was over the correct area, and release the (heavy) tool that would
fall mostly straight down. Seems pretty hard to spot / track / fail at. As far
as dropping it, thats just a servo, hardly difficult.

~~~
086421357909764
Depending on the size of the wire cutters (which are definitely tiny vs bolt
cutters) the servo drop method is extremely plausible, it's the same delivery
system ISIS has been using for consumer drones in Syria and Iraq.

~~~
ntaylor
There seems to be some inconsistencies in this article- wire cutters, or bolt
cutters? Big difference.

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24gttghh
> But an official aerial photo of the prison shows rings of tall fences and an
> expanse of more than 50 yards between the prison perimeter and the
> cellblocks, making it unlikely someone could have thrown or catapulted tools
> to him.

Have they never heard of a potato cannon?

>“They have to land for you to get the contraband off of them,” he said. “They
can’t drop it like a bomb.”

I see no reason why this is entirely impossible in all circumstances.

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LeifCarrotson
The headline is unsubstantiated speculation by the prison. There's no evidence
cited that the wire cutters were delivered by drone.

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kstenerud
And so begins the push to require that all drones be registered with the
police and equipped with an ID transponder and a remote kill switch...

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086421357909764
They're already pushing that to a degree, DJI is actually a proponent of a
digital tracking ID and registration.

~~~
abakker
On DJI drones, you already need to be "signed in" to the app in order to fly
in regulated airspace (or what DJI thinks is regulated airspace). It is also
necessary to exceed the legal height limit of 400ft. I wonder if anyone is
stupid enough to do that?

~~~
dogma1138
That only affects the newer ones the ones even the phantom 3 basic can be
flown without the app.

Also it's not that the registration is tied to a government issues ID at this
point.

Throwaway email and a basic android bruner phone can't really be tracked.

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benmowa
>"Tamez said there is no easy way for prisons to protect against the use of
small, unmanned aircraft, other than hiring more guards to watch the fences."

Can the drone and controller radio signals be detected, recognized and
triangulated? seems cheaper than staffing up..

~~~
Shivetya
well prisons aren't even allowed to block cell phones within prison walls, the
state of Georgia confiscated over twenty two thousand cell phones in 2016.
Yes, twenty two thousand. [1]. This lets them continue to commit crimes while
behind bars.

The rules that prevent anyone else from blocking radio and cellular signals
apply to prisons as well. so in a battle against drones one of the only steps
would be to keep all inmates inside 24x7 but that still leaves you with
exposure on details and worst yet, the staff.

[http://www.myajc.com/news/local/georgia-prisons-inmates-
use-...](http://www.myajc.com/news/local/georgia-prisons-inmates-use-drones-
apps-skirt-security/u4pWc3LklJWGfvRDzy04XK/)

~~~
dragonwriter
> well prisons aren't even allowed to block cell phones within prison walls,
> the state of Georgia confiscated over twenty two thousand cell phones in
> 2016.

Seems to me that blocking cell phones is the wrong solution; preventing
smuggling of contraband is the solution.

If you can smuggle cellphones in, cellphones are far from your _only_ problem,
and probably far from your biggest.

~~~
ceejayoz
Seems like it'd be a lot easier to jam cellphones with a few hundred bucks
worth of parts than apply Supermax security standards to every low-security
inmate.

~~~
bdcravens
The technology isn't the issue. FCC and similar regulations are.

~~~
ceejayoz
I'm aware of that. This seems like the sort of thing where an exemption should
be a no-brainer, and I'm fairly shocked there hasn't been a law allowing
jammers in prisons yet.

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nkrisc
Why are they so sure he didn't obtain the wire cutters the classic way: via
dirty guard?

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gxs
I've never understood how escapees are smart enough to put together an
elaborate escape plan, but then don't have the sense to lay low.

Sometimes I think there are plenty of people who escape but it's not
publicized so as to not encourage it and that the ones who do escape and are
caught are made examples of.

~~~
pmoriarty
It's not just about intelligence, but also about impulse control, mental
illness, desperation, etc. Someone could be reasonably or even very
intelligent and still have issues in these other areas.

~~~
gxs
That's kind of the point I was trying to make though.

Isn't planning an escape a display of those traits?

Planning an elaborate escape, securing cash, biding your time, roping others
in - isn't that a display of controlling your impulses, clear enough thinking
to plan something out long term?

Seems like it's a display of more than just intelligence.

It's almost like these people just lack focus and if they had something
productive to devote their time to they may have avoided this life.

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gremlinsinc
Anyone think life behind bars is harsh for just holding someone up at
gunpoint? Though a lawyer - probably has connections w/ judges and other
lawyers so--he got the book thrown at him... Kind of sad that we waste tax
payer dollars keeping people in jail this long who don't need to be.

~~~
nkrisc
I don't know. The way I see it, pointing a gun at someone is a threat to kill
them; why else do you point a gun at them? Anyone who is willing to kill (as
the victim must surely assume) doesn't belong out on the street. Can they be
rehabilitated? Maybe, and then maybe life in prison is harsh. But if someone
points a gun at me I'm going to assume they're going to kill me and as far as
I'm concerned they should be treated as if they were going to. There's a
difference between saying you're going to kill someone and actually being only
the slightest twitch away from doing so, intentionally. I have little sympathy
for those who would care so little for the lives of others. Life is too
precious to be soft on those who disregard it.

~~~
gremlinsinc
Just watched... going in style--where old geezers robbed a bank.. the guns
were loaded w/ blanks--so just pointing a gun doesn't always mean intent to
kill -- plus some people at age 19 might intend to kill, but by age 30 they
see htey were an idiot and come around and are nothing like that, shouldn't
they be able to re-enter society if not a threat any longer?

Now if they did kill someone that's a whole separate thing, and also aren't
you innocent till proven guilty? Intent should not matter you can't be
convicted of your intent, but of your actual actions which is you pointed a
gun at a person, you did not fire said gun so shouldn't be accountable for the
higher crime.. Not saying don't punish, but temper based on final outcomes...

had an uncle who's son robbed a hotel w/ his gun he was 18, his dad like
40's... he got something like 5-10 years. His dad who was asleep in the hotel
room got 75 years because he owned the gun... He's been in jail since 1993, my
grandpa died never having been able to visit/see him because he was all the
way in Texas.

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zkms
Ah, the low-budget variation on the old classic -- the helicopter prison
escape!

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_helicopter_prison_esca...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_helicopter_prison_escapes)

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TillE
Even as a preteen in the mid 90s, I was intrigued by the obvious criminal
possibilities presented by remote-controlled helicopters. Only a matter of
time until someone is murdered with a consumer drone.

~~~
opportune
Considering how small, fast, and cheap drones are these days, I'm honestly
surprised it hasn't happened yet.

~~~
artursapek
I've thought about this too... I can imagine a kamikaze drone armed with an
explosive (or swarm of them) would be a pretty effective weapon.

~~~
opportune
I've had the exact same thought. Drones are the perfect assassination tool. I
mean, they are already being used as such by ISIS and the US (e.g. Yemen). But
you would think that the common criminal would have begun using them by now
too. So far all I've heard of in that regard is them being used for drug
trafficking.

~~~
abakker
A teen in CT attached a pistol to a Drone a few years ago. He only did it for
"test" purposes. I was very impressed how the drone handled the recoil.

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exabrial
Trebuchet seems like it'd be a lot cheaper with larger payload...

~~~
8draco8
But way harder to correctly aim in first try.

